DxD: Völsunga
by Nerva Claudius
Summary: When I was murdered by Truck-kun, I never expected to find myself in a world where might makes right and boobs defy the laws of gravity. Watch as I aim to live a quiet life where I can ignore the plot and-wait, I was reincarnated as who? SI reincarnated as Siegfried. Rated M because it's Highschool DxD.
1. A Hero's Beginning

**Disclaimer: I do not own Highschool DxD or any of the references found in this story, nor am I making any profit from this story. All original Highschool DxD characters and references belong to their rightful owners, I just own the original characters and concepts that I have created myself.**

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There are a lot of things that I hate with a passion.

I hate having to watch two advertisements in a row on YouTube.

I hate being interrupted by my friend whenever i'm telling a story, only for him to try and guess what happens next.

I hate any television show where I have to "just make it through the first two seasons before it gets better".

I hate names that are spelt without any regards of phonics.

I hate Restaurants that don't title their restrooms Ladies and Gentlemen, but instead use some sort of ambiguous, clever name that takes you way too long to figure out which one is for you.

Basically, I hate a lot of things.

But now?

_I have never felt this much raw hatred in my entire life._

I can't move my body no matter how much I try. I can't open my eyes without being subjected to the fury of a thousand suns worth of light, not even long enough for me to see where I am. I keep hearing voices around me, constantly cooing at me as if I were a baby.

Sometimes I would feel a large hand touch my tiny little hand or stroke my head, and the only thing I can do is cry in retaliation. It doesn't help that my mind and body feel so fragile that I would probably cry if the air so much as vibrated in my direction.

And let's not forget the constant feeling of irritation I feel originating from my crotch and ass, begging to be released from its confines.

With all the evidence having been thrown in my face, it didn't take long for me to arrive at the conclusion that I have been reincarnated as a baby.

Since we're on the topic, do any of you believe in the idea of reincarnation?

Supposedly, the physical container that is the body will perish while the soul moves on and inhabits a new body. When you first hear about it, you're going to have some doubts about it. After all, if one was to have a soul then does that mean the afterlife exists? It just leads to more even unanswered questions.

I didn't believe any of it. Hell, how do we know that we even have a soul? It was too much trouble to start proving people wrong so I just kept my thoughts to myself.

At least, that was what I used to believe.

Before I was reincarnated that is.

It's not very comfortable being able to remember your own death.

I didn't die a grand death or anything, not at all. It was a simple road accident and I just happened to be in the wrong place at the wrong time. Really now, my bad luck just had to come through for me at the worst possible moment.

At least it was an instant death; Truck-kun slammed into my body at full force and I didn't even get to blink before I died.

I remember floating in a black void, succumbing to the sweet whispers of death when I realised that I had still retained my awareness, and as soon as I opened my eyes I found myself unable to have any basic control over my own body.

That and the strangers that keep showing up and playing with me.

It's been a week since I was reincarnated all over again as a baby. It wasn't hard to figure out my new name when everyone keeps repeating it; Number 3. What the hell is up with that kind of name? I want to have a talk with whoever named me! Let me see your manager!

There isn't much I know about where I was reincarnated-spending every day being unable to move tends to do that-though everyone has been speaking Italian so far, something i'm not very much grateful for.

I would get lots of strangers coming to watch over me with most of them being children, meaning that I might currently be in an orphanage. Of course, I could also have been reincarnated into a _really_ large family, I don't really know much about where I am.

"Why does Number 3 always look so angry?" a female voice asked right next to me, watching as I continued to wave my limbs around like a madman. Of course, I have no idea what they're saying so I just continue to struggle and make ugly faces, "There's always a frown on his face."

"That's true, but it doesn't really matter. Don't you think that it just makes him look even more cuter?" another voice, another female one, answered with a sigh before cooing once again, much to my annoyance. I felt the air in front of me shift, no doubt she was about to place her hands all over my body again. Not if I have anything to say about it.

I call upon all the stamina and energy inside me! Aid me in vanquishing my foe! With that said, I raised my arm and swatted her hand away. I heard a gasp from her and basked in my small victory, only to scrunch up my face in annoyance when I heard her squeals of happiness.

"That was so adorable! Look at how he tried reaching out to me! Oh my god!"

Argh! And I have to put up with this kind of stuff for the next couple of years!? I would have screamed at my misfortune but I was feeling too tired at the moment, I must have used up all my energy during my awe-inspiring counterattack. I guess i'll just sleep for a couple of seconds...

* * *

**[Four Months Later]**

My god, this has been the worst four months of my life.

Over the last four months, I was forced to watch as I had no control over my basic bodily functions. Every day. Do you know how it feels? Having to piss yourself knowing that there's nothing you can do about it? Within that period of wetting myself, crying over the slightest vibration in the air directed towards me and just having no basic control over my body emotions, I felt that I had truly become a baby.

And don't even get me started on the other babies. They're cute, they really are, but they are just _so_ exhausting. It would obviously be weird if a baby wasn't being a baby so I was forced to act the part. My mask is perfect, the adults don't suspect a thing, but the babies-_oh the babies_-can somehow tell that i'm different, _unique_.

And babies sure do love unique things.

I don't get to do anything anymore without being followed by my entourage of diaper-wearing babies. It makes for an adorable sight to the adults, and even for me, but at some point, it just got annoying. There are moments where I just want to be alone, you know? They're not making that easy for me.

But every time I see the look in their eyes, I can't find it in myself to get rid of them! Dammit, why do they have to be so cute!

Argh! Forget it! I'm keeping them!

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**[Two months Later]**

Six months in and teething has been a shit show.

Actually, scratch that. Teething has been, and pardon my french, an absolute bitch.

There's a constant itch in my mouth that's dying to hurt something-_someone_. I felt the need to just bite the first thing that moved in my line of vision. Snacks, toys, clothes, adults. Nothing was-_nothing is_-safe from my slobbering assault.

At this point, i've come to respect babies for being able to put up with all of this bullshit, and i've come to respect adults for being able to put up with _our_ bullshit. Seriously, it takes a lot of restraint and patience to not strangle me when i've vomited all over your shirt like what, four times?

Anyways, from what i've seen so far I can easily tell that this place isn't an orphanage; it's more of a facility, what with all the scientists walking around and every single child here wearing the same outfit. If that isn't enough, then maybe the fact that the younger children are given numbers will help attest to that fact.

Some of them even have the same features; red eyes and white hair. Every single child share the same red eyes but different hair colours, though most of them are black. Of course, I also have red eyes, reminiscent to that of a ruby in my own opinion, coupled with black hair.

Kind of edgy, like anime characters.

Anyways, forget about that for a moment. Today is going to be a very important day for me. Why you ask? Because it's time for me to speak my first words! I've been practicing my Italian for ages now and already learnt the basic vocabulary. I can also understand simple sentences at this point, though it's not perfect. All that's left now is to wait for an opportunity-

Well speak of the Devil and he shall arrive! A nun just walked into the playroom to switch with our caretaker. The caretaker's are always switching so there isn't much lost love with this development. They don't interact with us that much either, they usually just watch over us to make sure we don't do anything stupid because we babies _are_ pretty stupid.

Hmm? She's looking at me. Was I staring at her for too long? Oh well, it's not like they'll do anything about it-WOAH!

Hey lady! Put me down right now!

"You should be asleep right now, young man." she whispered, not wanting to disturb the other children, though there wasn't much heat in her voice and she had a playful smile. I didn't get enough time to reply as she pressed me against her chest and began to rock me back and forth-_oh boy this is working far too well for my liking._

"That's it, go back to sleep now." she spoke softly. Damn lady, you are really good at this. Why can't she be our caretaker? "Honestly, why can't Xenovia be as calm as you...Siegfried, is it?"

Wait a minute. Wait a _goddamn_ minute. _Hold_ the _fucking_ phone. _Apetta un minuto_. **_Chottomatte_**.

Xenovia? I know that goddamn name from anywhere...

No, that just had to be a coincidence. There's no way that I was reincarnated into THAT world, right? I mean, it's an anime world. There's no way that I could have been reborn in it, right?

"Sister Quarta, you can't come in here without clearance." a male voice interrupted my thoughts. Sister Quarta? Oh my-"What would the others think if one of our high-ranking members of the Church was to just do whatever they pleased? You need to set an example to the lower-ranking members..."

I tuned out whatever he happened to say next, my mind was still reeling back. I was reincarnated into the DxDverse. The universe where might is right and boobs are the ticket to winning every single fight. The world where nowhere was safe for humans from the various races and mythologies that existed here. The world where you had a higher chance of bumping into a God than winning the lottery.

And if I was reincarnated into the DxDverse, then that also answers the question of what exactly this place is. White hair, red eyes. Church members. Griselda Quarta. I'm in the goddamn Sigurd Institute, the same place that created that sick fuck Freed Sellzen and "I have a boner for swordsmen" Siegfried.

Hold up.

She called me Siegfried.

Why would she call me Siegfried-_oh my sweet merciful lord in Heaven._

_I'm_ the "I have a boner for swordsmen" Siegfried!

I was confused, I was tired as hell and I was _downright terrified_. I was planning on using my first words on her but as soon as I looked further down, all I could see were her bountiful breasts hiding behind her nun outfit and-

"Anime titties." wait, what the fuck. _That _wasn't what I was going to-_and now she's looking at me_.

Luckily, it seemed that the situation was too much for me to handle right before I blacked out. Was it exhaustion? Was it fear? I don't know, I don't think i'll ever know, but i'm glad I wasn't awake otherwise I would have seen the way Griselda Quarta's face darkened.

* * *

**[Six Months Later]**

It's been a year since I was reincarnated into the world of DxD. I've had some time to come to terms with it and, in my opinion, i'm doing a lot better right now. Being surrounded by all this fluff (read little kids) tends to do that to you.

But still, Highschool DxD. Of all the worlds to reincarnate into, it just had to be this one.

Well at least it wasn't the Narutoverse, but this world still has its own problems.

This world is filled with beings that can destroy me with nothing but a thought. Just look at the Four Satans; hell, two of them are one of the ten strongest beings in the world. Then there's Indra, Crom Cruach, Rizevim and the other members of the Pantheons. And don't even get me started on Ophis, Great Red and Trihexa.

And i've been reincarnated as a character that ends up dying later in the plot. Well, he would have died regardless due to the overuse of all his Demon swords-wait a minute, doesn't that mean that _i'm_ going to have my lifespan sapped away? Ah, i'll just stick to light swords and guns or something.

Damn it Ishibumi, do you even know what kind of world you've created? It may seem all nice at first but that's only because it focused on Issei's point of view. Every day, there are humans who are attacked without being able to defend themselves. Anyone who's born with a Sacred Gear will have their normal lives thrown out the window and forcefully shoved into the Supernatural world. It's a strong eat weak world and without power, you can't do anything.

Basically, i'm going to have to work pretty damn hard if I want to survive in the future. And what place better than the Sigurd Institute? I mean, sure, i'm not too happy to find out that I was reincarnated as an experiment in the Sigurd Institute. I'm even less happy knowing that I'm nothing more than an over glorified lap dog for the Church. They can always just make more loyal soldiers; in the end, we're just expandable.

But at the same time, I have all the resources I need to make sure I become strong enough so that I at least have a fighting chance. I also have knowledge of future events and characters so that should be able to help somewhat as well. Couple them together and I should do fine so long as I don't stop training myself.

That's why i've decided to start training my body early. I started crawling recently and to build up my stamina, I would just crawl everywhere I could. It may seem small now but it'll give me a head start compared to the rest of my siblings here. That and you can just crawl away from your problems.

You want to breastfeed me again? Hmm, I don't think you will. What's that you say? I'm going to the timeout corner? I think the fuck not! It's time for more experiments? No it fucking isn't!

You'd be amazed at how easy it is to crawl away from all sorts of bullshit.

And the best part is that it's working! I can crawl faster than all the other kids and have far more stamina. If I keep this up, I might even become a stamina monster.

Ever since I recently learnt how to walk, I began to run around everywhere as well. It was bad enough the caretakers couldn't catch me when I crawled, now I can walk? You should have seen the look on my caretakers face when I stood up for the first time, it was priceless.

For some reason, the rest of my fellow children decided to follow my example and, oh boy, did we ruin our caretakers day.

I'm proud of those kids, you know? I really am. With the amount of time i've spent with them, they've all but grown on me. I mean sure, most of the unfaithful ones have already left me for the next shiny thing but the kids that stayed made me feel something.

You hear that my siblings? You'll always have a special place in my heart, especially you number 24, you little rascal you.

...

And then there's Griselda.

Oh boy, Griselda.

I just want to start by expressing how grateful I am towards my caretakers for taking the blame. Apparently, Griselda blames the caretakers for my use of "foul language" and proceeded to complain to the staff about taking a more active role in raising the next generation.

Which means that she'll be teaching us from here on out. While the Sigurd Institute is a place where Homunculi are created, it also acts as a training facility for the Exorcists in training. There are multiple facilities that branch out depending on where your talents lie; the current facility is used to train Exorcists while mainly focusing on those who are talented with a sword.

I'm not complaining, this just means we have a better curriculum now. Hence my rate of surviving goes up. Of course, my siblings will also be involved; I don't really want them to die in the future.

But.

Judging from Xenovia and Irina's fear towards the nun in question, I can't help but be afraid for my future. This world is based on an anime so I should be expecting some hellish training.

...

Welp, at least I can take solace in the fact that my life will be easier considering I have the knowledge of an adult within me; studies are going to be a cinch.

Nevertheless, I have nothing else to do right now except for play the part of a child. I don't know about any of you but I quite like the idea of being able to take naps wherever I want.

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**[Four Years Later]**

Finally five years old, meaning that the Institute has finally decided to begin teaching us.

It's nothing too serious, just some simple training and basic studies like maths and English that everyone is required to take. They're also teaching us about the history of the world as well as the various factions.

While I have no problems with the curriculum, what I don't like is their attempts at practically brainwashing us to remain faithful to the Church. It's clearly not working on me but I can't say the same about the rest of my siblings.

Summed up, It sounds something like this: everyone that isn't human is the enemy, we need to follow God's words, the Church is number 1, go away heretics, etc.

And then there are the Devils. We're taught that they only want to take your soul from you and will do anything to get it. They are the enemy and must be killed on sight to protect humanity.

Of course,_ on sight_ directly translates to _inside our territory_. If there are any humans living in another faction's territory, the Church won't lift a finger.

How noble.

Anyways, their brainwashing clearly isn't working on me but I can't say the same for my siblings. I don't take kindly to my family being brainwashed like that; nothing a little bit of therapy from this amazing Number 3 can't fix.

In my spare time, I decide to tell them about everything else regarding Devils that they leave out in our education; how they aren't always after your soul is the main one. I don't want my entourage to poke whatever reeks of Devils with their swords in the future, that's like the quickest way to die.

Well, at this point they're more my minions than entourage. Seriously, they listen to my every one of my words with the kind of loyalty you would only find in zealots, always looking to be praised.

Hmm, I don't know if I should be worried about their devotion-_nah_. They're kids and they're cute, so it's fine. Cute is justice after all.

Besides, it's always nice to have someone close to you.

Anyways, as for training i'm clearly at the top of my class. All those small exercises, as well as the adult mind i'm packing in spades, have clearly given me an unfair advantage.

Every exercise I participate in with my siblings results in my win, though Number 15 has been getting better. Scratch that, he's been getting _really_ good lately. The last time we had a race, he almost managed to keep up with me.

Another thing is that i've tried summoning my Sacred Gear but nothings come up. Canon!Siegfried had a Twice Critical whose Balance Breaker gave him four extra arms, as well as doubling his power for each arm. After a couple of tries, I came to the conclusion that I don't have a Sacred Gear anymore.

We went over Sacred Gears during our studies and, from what I remember, Sacred Gears are bestowed to humans by God placing it directly into their souls. Since I have a different soul from canon!Siegfried, I guess that means I don't have it anymore. It's a shame really, but i'll manage without it.

Anyways, I would be lying if I said I hate it here right now. Life's been pretty slow-studying and exercise is pretty much all we do-but it's also peaceful. No having to fight the other races, no politics, no bullshit. Just me and my small family of sorts.

Life is good.

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**And that's the prologue complete!**

**This is my first time writing a fanfiction so please don't hold back in your reviews and just tell me if there are any problems that need to be corrected. I know i'm not perfect which is why I want to improve my writing as much as possible.**

**I had this idea stuck in my head for a while now but never got around to it. I always thought that Siegfried was a cool character, even if he is a bit of an asshole at times.**

**If I end up continuing this story (which I most likely will), I might do a Fate crossover with either Apocrypha or Grand Order just to have him interact with Sigurd and Siegfried, and maybe Brynhildr, or it could be one of the others series' (though i'm currently leaning on Apocrypha and Grand Order). This is something that i'm not planning on doing in a while since I'll be focusing on this story instead; it's probably going to be a side-project or something.**

**Tell me what you guys think; ****please leave your opinions in the review section, I want to hear anything you have to say.**

**And now for the important matters... Harems!**

**Obviously, since this is Highschool DxD, there is going to have to be a harem. **

**Right now I have a general idea for the harem members; I'll be listening to all requests so feel free to leave any suggestions in the reviews.**

**I'll also be including some fluffy moments with certain characters because fluff is love, fluff is life and you can't tell me otherwise.**

**I hope you enjoyed this chapter and stay tuned for more!**


	2. Town of Beginnings-Wait, Wrong Franchise

**Disclaimer: I do not own Highschool DxD or any of the references found in this story, nor am I making any profit from this story. All original Highschool DxD characters and references belong to their rightful owners, I just own the original characters and concepts that I have created myself.**

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The minimum age to begin Exorcist training is 10 years old. By then, you would already have been through most of the basic studies that are necessary and have trained your body to a sufficient level. Most of our studies consisted of the ordinary school studies but they made sure that Religious Education was our core subject. To be honest, I would have been surprised if they _didn't_ make RE our core subject.

The Sigurd Institute also doubles as a training facility for exorcists in training, meaning that we get a lot of visitors every day. Most of them are exorcists in training or apprentices but we also get fully-fledged exorcists coming in to manage the training sessions. The exorcists that hold the training sessions are usually those who have been pulled out the main force due to injuries, old age, etc. They may not be able to fight anymore but they can still put their skills to use by teaching the next generation of exorcists.

To be honest, the training facilities are starting to feel like school all over again.

Memories of my pubescent years start to pop up again whenever I think of school again, my glorious days of yore where I was naught but a hormonal teenager and drama lurked behind every corner like Yandere-chan.

Ah, school.

Anyways, it's been about eight years since I was "born", for lack of better terms. The last three years have gone by pretty quickly. My routine was pretty much just wake up, have breakfast, study, lunch, study, exercise, study, dinner, sleep, rinse and repeat. The Institute faculty want us to be as ready as we can be for when we're officially inducted into the Exorcist Training Program.

When it comes to Physical Education, i'm at the top. This is mainly thanks to the large amount of stamina I've been building up since I was a baby. I had gotten some weird looks whenever I would just run in circles but I always knew that it would pay off at some point.

But seriously though, that Number 15 always manages to keep up with me. I mean yeah, i'm much faster than him, smarter than him, stronger than him-basically, i'm better than him in every way, but he's slowly bridging the gap between us.

Maybe I should start to work harder? Yeah, I probably should. Overconfidence is never a good trait to have; I guess I was feeling pretty arrogant since my competition is filled with a bunch of kids-

Huh. Is this the start of a rivalry? Damn, i'm getting the full protagonist experience; what next, I have to rescue him from his inner darkness? Or maybe stop him from defecting the hidden village and joining a Paedophile Snake?

Heh.

Anyways, I have nothing to do today as it is a Sunday. They usually give us Sundays off for relaxing and getting to know each other. Of course, it's hard to talk to the other kids when they don't want to talk to me.

I tend to not take part in activities as much as my siblings do, mainly because I'm an adult in mind and would rather read a book. It's one of the only things I can enjoy in the Institute rather than playing tag with the other descendants. You can imagine the wonders it's done for my social skills, and what children don't understand, they single them out. Children are innocent monsters, always following the crowd no matter what.

Anyways, I'm basically the "Geek", "Bookworm", "Weird Kid", you get the idea.

Besides, to be honest I prefer it this way. I can get much more done like this rather than waste time running around like a headless chicken. Unlike the rest of my siblings, I have knowledge of future events; I know just how bad the timeline will become at some point. I'm obviously not going to follow the same path as my canon self, that ended up with him becoming a giant spider-monster and dying in the end, as well as his entire arsenal of swords ditching him like a bad date. I'm also not going to just let the canon plot take place either, not when I can change it.

Which is why I choose to train myself whenever I have the time. If i'm going to change the plot, I'll need to be strong. I'm sure that canon Siegfried didn't just sit about and wait to become strong, he trained himself to reach the level of power he obtained, and i'm going to do the same.

But unlike canon Siegfried, i'm not going to stop at just honing my sword mastery; i'm going to go even further beyond.

"Forty-six! Forty-seven! Forty-eight! Forty-nine!"

I could feel a heavy strain on my body as I pushed myself off the ground again. Sweat was pouring down my body and forming a small pool under me, a token of my dedication to the training regimen I had begun some time ago.

Just as Sairaorg Bael had reached the pinnacle of the Devil body, Crom Cruach had reached the pinnacle of the Dragon's body and Vasco Strada had reached the pinnacle of the Human body, I would strive to reach that same level with my own hard work.

Sairaorg had started off at the bottom of the social ladder, an outcast to his entire race. Yet he was able to overcome all the harsh words sent his way and trained what he had in place of what he didn't have; his body. In the end, his hard work paid off and the failure of the Bael Clan became the Strongest Youth, having paved his way with nothing but his fists.

Crom Cruach ignored his instincts as an Evil Dragon and, rather than cause havoc across the world, chose to spend his time training in his lonesome. Every single day, he would train himself to the absolute limit, rest and start again the next day. As a result, he had broken through his own limits and attained the strength of a Heavenly Dragon.

Vasco Strada is limited by the strength of the human body unlike the rest of the supernatural. Even with that limitation, he continued to train himself until he reached a level where he could fight and defeat a Grigori Cadre. Even the current Satans of the Underworld feared Vasco when he was still in his prime. Hell, even some of the Gods feel cautious when it came to fighting Vasco in his prime. His strength ended up with him being hailed by many as the strongest human.

I want to reach that level, that small space at the top of the mountain where only the strongest can stand. I don't know if that's what I want or if it's just my blood talking, but I also want to stand next to those people and be hailed as one of the **Strong**.

Which brings us to right now.

"Fifty! Fifty-one! Fifty-two! Fifty-three! Fifty-four!"

If I wanted to reach that level of strength, I would need to work hard for it. That's why I had decided on creating a harsh training regimen at a young age. I don't have long until canon starts, only about ten years or so. By then, I plan on having attained Touki and magic, as well as honing my sword mastery to a level where I can survive most of the opponents I will inevitably face.

To obtain Touki, you would need to learn how to control your own base of life. While most users of Touki learn to do so after learning Senjutsu, it's also possible to obtain it by training my body intensively. At least, that was how Sairaorg managed to obtain it. We don't have any Senjutsu practitioners at the Institute so this is all I can do at the moment. If i'm lucky, i'll end up finding someone in the Church who is also a Senjutsu practitioner, though the chances are slim; not many races outside of the Youkai use Senjutsu due to the danger of losing your mind to the malice of the world.

"Fifty-five! Fifty-six! Fifty-seven! Fifty-eight! Fifty-nine!"

Until then, all I can do is just train my body. It'll also give me an advantage for when I'm inducted into the Exorcist Training Program.

"Sixty!"

I sucked in a deep breath as I collapsed onto the floor of my bedroom. With my morning training regimen finally complete, everyone else should start to wake up in a bit. Until then, I should have some time to read the magic tomes I borrowed from the Library.

I mentioned this before but the Institute also doubles as a training facility for exorcists. We get a lot of exorcists coming in and training themselves whenever they have the time. Back when the Institute was first set up, a couple of exorcist mages decided to put up a library for anyone who wanted to become a practitioner of magic. It's not as effective as being taught directly but it serves to build up a good base.

And of all the magic tomes I could find, I ended up choosing "The Basic Guide to Rune Magic". While it may not have the most firepower compared to the other types of magic, it is one of the most versatile magic systems in the world. There is practically no limit to the different combinations that you can create with each rune. In the hands of an expert, they could cause some serious damage alone.

And the best part is that it doesn't require as many calculations compared to the other human magic schools. Unlike the other magic systems in the world, human magic is dependent on calculations and algorithms. To begin with, magic itself is an art that alters the world using Mana, and is split into two components: Mana, which is used to supply the alteration of the world, and magic circles, which is used to direct that Mana. Most races use easier methods for the latter component like the Devils who just need their imagination, which is a total hax ability, or the Angels who use belief. We humans are just that, humans. We need to find another method to compensate for our imperfect qualities, thus we use calculations and algorithms to direct our Mana.

However, Rune magic is able to skip most of the calculations and go directly onto creating the spell. This is thanks to the runes themselves doing most of the calculations on their own, with me just having to chain them together to use said spell.

It's times like these that I wonder just what was my canon self thinking. He had access to all kinds of magic but solely relied on his swords? Say what you want but in the end, that's a stupid move. Why anyone wouldn't use the resources given to them is something I will never understand.

Anyways, it's been a while since I delved into the magic arts. I want to say that I've been getting the hand of it but to be honest, I'm not. It's a hassle having to remember every single Rune from heart, not to mention the time it takes to create the more unique formulae.

But that doesn't mean I'm going to stop. If this much was enough to stop me, I wouldn't have bothered with the training regimen. Once I reach the level of an expert, it will surely become a valuable tool in the future.

And I may have been influenced by Cu Chulainn from Fate Grand Order.

Okay, I was definitely influenced by Cu Chulainn. Cu Chulainn is best doggo, change my mind.

I focused on my inner self, reaching towards my Magic Core and allowing it to open up. All living creatures contain a Magic Core that is stored inside their body. It is a conceptual container where your magic is generated and stored, and travels through your body using the Magic Channels that act as a conduit.

Anyone is capable of magic as long as they awaken their Magic Core. There are three methods to awakening your Magic Core: you would need to have someone with an awakened Core to kick start your own Core, kick start your own Core by drinking a special fluid or being born with it, though the latter is generally reserved for prodigies. I had awakened my Core using the second method; there weren't any mages around on the day I awakened my Core, leaving me to my own devices.

The fluid tastes absolutely disgusting in case you were wondering. 0/10, would not recommend at all.

I could feel a slight buzzing in my chest, signalling that my Magic Core was fully awake. I raised my arm into the air and focused my Mana into my index finger, watching as it glowed a soft blue, and with practised movements, I began to trace Runes in midair.

**ᛚᛁ**

Laguz and Isa, the rune of flows, water, the sea and acquisition, and the rune of ice and rune reinforcement respectively.

The two runes floated in the air aimlessly, waiting for the unspoken command to be given. With a simple thought, the runes collected together until the air began to grow colder. Water droplets were formed in the air before grouping together, forming a lance while simultaneously freezing. In less than five seconds, a spear of ice had been formed and landed in the palm of my hand.

See what I mean? With Rune magic, you can basically use all kinds of magics depending on the combinations you create. Each rune has a number of different meanings but if you know which meaning you're using, you can end up with a different result each time you combine them. For example, if I used Isa to reinforce Laguz, rather than use the ice meaning, I could increase the strength of the Laguz rune and end up with a large amount of water.

Rune magic for the win.

Though right now I can only trace runes using a single finger. It gets harder as you go along but I want to be able to use multiple fingers simultaneously when tracing runes.

I immediately began to trace a new set of runes while holding the ice spear in my left hand.

**ᛊᚦ**

The runes glowed for a moment before fire began to collect together, forming a small fireball that floated harmlessly above my index finger. I shoved the ice spear into it and watched as it began to melt almost instantly, forming water vapour that collected together on the ceiling and forming a puddle below me.

A simple Fire Burst spell that creates a small orb of fire. With the amount of Mana I poured into it, it was the same size as the palm of my hand, but if I were to use it in combat situations with a higher input of Mana, well...

Guess who's going to be spamming Cruel Suns?

A grin began to creep onto my face as the floating ball of fire began to dissipate, losing its connection to my Mana. I can't help but feel giddy whenever I use Rune magic. Just thinking of all the possible combinations I could create is enough to leave me on cloud-nine for the whole day.

For the next fifteen minutes, I continued to trace runes and create my own rune-chains while making sure to note down ideas that would require testing in the future. Any rune-chains that I found useful, I had inscribed them into a formula on my Magic Circle. That way, I would be able to access the spell much faster just by pulling out said Magic Circle, rather than having to create the entire rune-chain from the beginning over and over again.

So far, I only have five formulae on hand. The reason the number is so low is because there isn't enough space anywhere in the Institute where I can test out my more... bigger ideas. The training rooms are off limits until I become an Exorcist Apprentice so until then, i'm stuck on the small stuff. But once I get clearance into the training rooms...

Heh heh, I can't wait...

By the time I was done, the rest of the test subjects had begun to wake up; some of them had already left their rooms and went to the cafeteria for breakfast. I went to the bathroom to wash up and get ready for the day. After brushing my teeth and washing my face, I left my room and closed the door behind me, on my way to the cafeteria for the start of another day.

* * *

Breakfast was just as loud as I expected.

Most, if not all, of the test subjects had already formed their small cliques. By that point in time, there were a few stragglers left who had no place anywhere and would just mind their own business.

Of course, I fall in the latter group. Years of acting alone rather than trying to get along with my siblings have resulted in me being alienated by the rest of the children. Not that i'm complaining, I can just get more training done without being distracted.

After we all had our breakfast, we went to the classrooms for our daily lessons. Most of the classrooms are on the second floor with the first floor consisting of training rooms for Exorcists and Exorcist Apprentices. After climbing the first flight of stairs and reaching my classroom, I moved to the back of the class and took my seat in the centre row. Each classroom is able to fit about twenty-five students with the classroom layout being quite large; each desk stretches out and is able to fit about five students, with three rows of desks split into two sections.

The rest of the students began to enter the classroom one by one while the teacher hadn't arrived yet, giving them time to relax. They shuffled around the classroom, sitting down on their seats and chatting with their friends until the lesson started. I decided to use this time by pulling out my notebook on Elder Futhark runes. This notebook is solely reserved for writing down any possible rune-chains I could create without being able to test them just yet.

Any time spent on runes is good time management.

I had gone through the notebook for five minutes, having created a single rune-chain, when I felt the air shift behind me. I didn't react, already knowing who was standing behind me, and instead greeted my visitor.

"Good morning, Freed."

"Morning." Freed Sellzen smiled as he sat down on my right, returning the greeting back.

Freed Sellzen, known by his subject name as Number 15, was one of the only people I knew that held a place in my list of favourite people. He doesn't show any of the qualities his canon self had shown and, contrary to popular belief, is actually a nice person. I don't know what might have happened to him to turn him into whatever canon Freed is, but right now he's a pretty good guy.

Yes, I know what you're thinking. Freed Sellzen is the maniac who cuts people up for shits and giggles. Should I have been afraid? Maybe. Should I distance myself from him? I probably won't. Will I find out what happens in the next episode of Doctor Who? Not anymore I won't. What I _do_ know is that this isn't canon Freed, meaning that he isn't, well, a maniac that cuts people up for shits and giggles. Besides, I can't really call him a maniac if he hasn't even gone Kill Bill yet.

"Again with the Rune dictionary?" he asked, "Don't you have any other books? I only ever see you holding a book on runes."

"You just don't understand how amazing runes are." I chided with a wag of my finger, "The number of different possible outcomes you could reach with runes is unlimited, they're just far too versatile when applied correctly. I bet that if you were to-"

"Sieg, you're rambling again."

"Bah, I don't need to explain myself to you." I waved my hand as I stored my dictionary away into my bag. Freed shook his head with a sigh and laid his arm on the desk, resting his head in the palm of his hand.

Just as I put away my dictionary, another presence made itself known as it sat on my left. I looked up and smiled towards my neighbour.

"Morning Lint."

"G-good morning!" she greeted back, a small blush painting her cheeks pink. I replied with another smile and raised my arm, marvelling in how soft her hair was to the touch.

"A-ah, I t-told you to s-stop doing that..." Lint complained, her blush steadily increasing in intensity. Oh ho~ If you don't want it, then why is your head gently leaning into the palm of my hand? I had no doubt that if she had a tail, it would have created a small dust storm by now.

Once again, I was treated to the sight of Lint Sellzen before she became the cheerful, confident girl she was in canon. This Lint was far too shy, opting to hide between Freed and myself most of the time rather than put the attention on herself.

I swear by all that is unholy, if any of you so much as think of lewding Lint, I'm going to castrate the lot of you. Whether He is deceased or not, not even God himself will be able to help you.

At least she was able to greet me. The first time I met her, she refused to even look at me without Freed being there to coax her out her hiding spot behind him.

* * *

_-Flashback-_

_And now I remember why I didn't want to go and "get to know" my siblings._

_The Recreational room was an absolute mess. My siblings were running around the room, screaming and whooping as they went while causing all sorts of damage; the white, pristine walls had drawings all over them done with a crayon; pillows were flying all around the room; empty shoes laid on the ground._

_How the hell did Number 13 force half his body into the ceiling?_

_I felt a deep sense of pity for the caretaker whose face had reached a new level of white._

_I guess it was expected for kids to be loud, maybe i'm the weird one for always being so quiet and alone?_

_Looking around, I can see a couple of my siblings trying to actually get to know each other, though it's not working out as well as they thought it would. They tried to stick to the corners of the room but that clearly isn't working._

_The rest of them have already formed their own cliques as they huddled together in various parts of the room. Whenever a new child would try and talk to them, the conversation would be ended as soon as possible and they were sent their way._

_'Mission failed, we'll get em next time.' I thought to myself as I watched another child get shooed away. I'm glad I still have my meme's backed up inside my archives. Nice going brain._

'Why thank you. I do appreciate being complimented for my hard work from time to time.'

_I looked to my right and saw another one of my siblings, Number 15, trying to hide his presence as much as he could. If I were being honest, I think Number 15 is my favourite sibling so far. Honestly, just look at him and then compare him to these animals-I mean, the rest of my siblings. He's practically a godsend._

_And now he's looking at me with narrowed eyes-no wait, they've widened; he recognises me. Yep, it's time to release some of my protagonist aura and get to know him. I would much rather prefer to talk with him rather than the wild animals causing havoc in the room._

_"Hey." I waved when I got close enough. Great going brain, the best you could come up with is "Hey"? Nice, real nice._

'Shut up, you moved forward to talk to him before I could think of what I was going to say.'

_No excuses Brain. You had one job, the same job you've had for the last eight years, and you chose now to mess up._

'Unless you've forgotten, you ARE me. The body is just a pile of flesh that we're currently piloting.'

_Hmm. Good point, I concede._

'You can't "concede" against yourself idiot-haah... Just...just stop trying to argue with yourself and talk to Number 15.'

_Don't you get sassy with me, I don't like the tone of your voice._

'I don't have a voice, this conversation is happening in your thoughts.'

_"Are... Are you okay?" I was brought out of my argument with myself when Number 15 decided to voice his concerns. Aww, you're worried for me? You shouldn't be, but i'll accept it nonetheless because I'm a sucker for anything that's free._

_"Yes? Why wouldn't I be?"_

_"Well, you suddenly blanked out as soon as you greeted me."_

'It's true. As soon as you decided to argue with me, hence yourself, you ignored his greeting.'

_Not now Brain._

_"No, i'm okay. I was just thinking of something, it's nothing to worry about." Number 15 merely raised an eyebrow at the reply before shrugging, having accepted the answer he received._

_"So." I continued, "i'm Number 3, though I guess you already knew that."_

_"Yes, I know who you are." Number 15 replied as he raised his arm, waiting for a handshake. I accepted the gesture and shook his hand, eliciting a small smile from the red-eyed boy. "Your personal name is Siegfried, right? From the Fafnir series?"_

_He snorted when I raised my eyebrows in surprise, "Don't be surprised. You're the only one of us to have been named after our ancestor, everyone knows about you-" he paused for a moment, furrowing his brows before finishing his sentence, "Well, everyone who isn't a part of...whatever this is." he gestured to the storm in the middle of the room with his head._

_Huh. I guess you learn something new every day._

_"Anyways, I'm number 15. My personal name is Freed Sell__zen__ of the Sellzen series, and this," he shifted his body, revealing a black haired girl hiding behind him, "is Number 16; Sieglinde Sell__zen__ of the Sellzen series, though I call her Lint. She's a little shy, and tends to hide behind me most of the time, but she's a good girl."_

_Freed and Lint? I've heard those names before, I just can't seem to recall who they were. It's been a while since I watched the show, I can't remember much-oh, i'm keeping her waiting aren't I?_

_"Hello!" I greeted with a smile, only to falter when she began to scramble away from me and cling onto Number 15 harder._

_"Lint, try and say hello."_

_"No! I don't wanna!"_

_Ugh! Two hit wombo-combo right in the heart! It's okay though, I can still keep fighting!_

_"Hi there, my name is Siegfried. Its nice to meet you." I greeted again, this time with a gentle smile._

_"No!"_

_And that's a KO._

'Holy shit dude, are you okay?'

_I'm fine Brain. I'm just bleeding from my heart, it'll pass._

'Internal bleeding is actually a serious problem. You should probably go and get some help soon before you-'

_Brain, seriously. If I wanted your smart ass comments, I would have asked for them._

'You are me. If i made a smart ass comment, that's because you wanted a smart ass comment.'

_...Dammit I concede once again._

'You can't-you know what? Forget it. More importantly, think back on their personal names.'

_Lint and Freed, right? I don't see how that's a problem._

'Think harder.'

_Listen here Brain, this isn't my job. It's your job to keep this kind of information up to date, you can't get angry at me when I don't-_

_...Oh._

'Yeah. Oh.'

_"I'm still working on her confidence." Number 15-no, _Freed Sellzen before he goes crazy_-helpfully added, trying to coax_ Lint Sellzen_ out of her hiding spot behind him. "Come on Lint, you're being rude to Siegfried."_

_Well damn, Freed Sellzen in the flesh. I honestly don't know how to feel about this. On the one hand, he's a deranged psychopath who gets off on raping, killing and even eating innocent people, but on the other hand, this is the Freed before he became a Stray; Vanilla Freed if I may._

_I was so caught up in my inner thoughts that I didn't notice the little lady who had built up her courage and stepped forward._

_"Um!" I looked down at Lint, who looked ready to bolt behind Freed again but held herself back. "M-my name... My name is Lint! It's nice to meet you!" she all but shouted before sprinting back to her hiding spot, stealing small glances at me._

_'_Precious_' was the first word that came to mind after witnessing her greeting. _'Must protect'_ was the second. Judging my the look on Freed's face, I could tell he was wondering what the hell was wrong with me._

'Oh my god, she's absolutely adorable.'

_She is, isn't she? We have to protect her._

'For once, we're in agreement.'

_But we're the same person?_

'I knew you were faking it!'

* * *

Somewhere in the Underworld, two certain sis-con Satans sneezed at the same time before turning their heads towards the window. Unknown to the other, they had the exact same thought as they stared out into the sky.

_'A new comrade has been born.'_

* * *

And that was how I met Freed and Lint Sellzen of the Sellzen Series.

Freed and Lint were created using the same genetic code, making them almost the same person. I think it was because of this that they've decided to stick together as much as they could, treating the other as a sibling of sorts. They still sleep in separate rooms but since their numbers are right next to each other, so are their bedrooms. Meanwhile, I sleep a couple of rooms down the same hallway.

We chatted with each other for about fifteen minutes, just talking about how our day went so far or helping Lint with her homework before the teacher entered the classroom.

I don't care what anyone says, finishing your homework before the teacher begins collecting them in is an extreme sport and nobody can change my mind.

We managed to help her finish her homework just as Father Francesco entered the classroom. With every student being accounted for, and the homework having been collected in, he finally began the lesson.

We were only ten minutes in and I already felt myself zoning out. It was just mathematics, something that I had no desire to revisit after years of school. Looking to my right, I could see Freed paying attention to Father Francesco's rambling while writing down on his notebook. Seriously, he was so dedicated to his work, what the hell happened to all of that in canon?

I began to pull out my rune dictionary again when I saw that Lint had already been distracted by a butterfly that decided to make itself known, flying around her fingers. Lint was smiling as she stretched her index finger, giving the butterfly a ledge to rest on. I slowly put the dictionary back into my bag, not wanting to alert her while making sure to burn the image of a giggling Lint into my mind forever.

"Eheh~ Good morning, Mr Butterfly~"

Ah, so precious.

So smol, must protec.

* * *

"Ahh!" I stretched my arms above my head as our last class had just finished. There were a couple of students still in class, either writing down some last-minute notes or just talking with their friends, while the rest had already left to wander around the Institute. It's times like these that it really feels like school all over again.

"Well then." I began, getting Lint and Freed's attention, "What do you guys want to do now?"

Freed gained a contemplative look on his face before shrugging his shoulders. I turned my attention towards Lint, who also didn't seem to know what to do.

"I could teach you about runes?" I tried to help, only to receive a denial from both of them simultaneously. Whatever, I don't have to teach these heathens anything.

"We have an hour and a half left until dinner." Freed stated, staring at the clock, "Do you think we can get permission to leave the Institute grounds?"

The Sigurd Institute is located in Vatican City, near the outskirts. It's not that far from the main area, meaning that we can go and visit the city so long as we have permission and come back at the designated time. The longest we're allowed to stay out is an hour at max, and the journey there takes about ten minutes by foot, leaving us with a good forty minutes to explore before having to come back.

We all agreed to Freed's proposal and got up, having already packed away all of our books and equipment and made to leave the classroom when we found our path blocked by a group of students.

"What do you want now, Kriemhild?" I sighed, an annoyed look plastered on my face.

Kriemhild, known as Number 2 and a part of my own Völsung Series, folded her arms in front of her as she stood strong, refusing to back down. Like me, she also had pitch black hair that reached her waist, and blood-red eyes; it felt like I was staring at a female version of myself.

"Don't you think that this has gone on for too long, Siegfried?" Kriemhild asked, "You shouldn't hang about with the two of them, you should be with those that would treat you properly-"

"Like you?" I interjected, quirking an eyebrow. She looked a bit annoyed at being cut off but agreed anyway.

Kriemhild is fixated on her status as the second descendant of Sigurd to have been born. Of the first five descendants, only four of us are left: Kriemhild: Sigmund: Svanhilde and myself. The first descendent had died right after he was born due to multiple defects, marking him as the first failure. There were many more failures after that, not everyone made it. That's why there are so many gaps in numbers between each test subject.

Kriemhild is like a spoiled princess, thinking that because she's the oldest descendant she is automatically greater than the rest of us. While it wasn't a problem say, three years ago, it will become a problem if she continues to use that kind of mindset. Arrogance is never a good trait, just look at Riser and Diodora. The less said about those two, the better.

"Kriemhild." I began, "I can be friends with whoever I want. We aren't doing anything to bother you, so don't come over here and bother us."

Kriemhild actually looked offended and was about to start again when she turned her attention to Freed and Lint, narrowing her eyes at the pair.

"This is your fault, isn't it?" she hissed at the two of them. Freed seemed to stiffen for a moment and Lint hid behind Freed, a couple of tears beginning to form at the corners of her eyelids, "The both of you are always clinging onto him, taking advantage of Siegfried's kindness."

"Kriemhild." I interrupted again, only this time I was done with masking my anger. Something ugly reared its head inside of me, wanting nothing more than to get rid of the annoyance standing in my way. "Shut up."

"We're leaving. Now." I was done with this conversation. I began to walk forward, holding onto Freed and Lint's arms and guiding them away from the classroom. I don't think we were going to visit Vatican City anymore.

Lint, Freed." I began, "No matter what they say, I won't leave the two of you."

Freed stared at the ground, his eyes shadowed by his hair, while Lint could be heard sniffling, trying to stop herself from crying. I have no doubt that Kriemhild's last words brought up unpleasant memories that we would all prefer to have been left alone.

Suddenly, Lint moved forward, latching onto me with a hug and refusing to let go. I accepted the gesture with open arms and returned the hug, rubbing her back softly and trying to console her. In the end, they're still children. They aren't like me, an adult in the body of a child. Their physiques are frail and can break at any moment, especially after what had happened to the two of them.

I don't know how long we stood there but by the time we were finished, we decided to forget about visiting Vatican City and just went to eat our dinner. It was a quiet affair, there wasn't much talking going on. Freed just ate slowly, his face downcast for the entire duration of the meal. Lint wasn't faring any better but she was showing signs of recovering, albeit slowly.

After we finished our meals, we decided to go straight to our rooms rather than walking around the Institute. I stayed with them for as long as I could and when it was time to go to sleep, I brought my things over to Lint's room and got Freed to do the same.

The rest of the night was silent, Freed and Lint having finally fallen asleep after two hours. I slept on the floor, having brought my pillows and cover over, while Freed shared his bed with Lint. The beds are far too small to fit all three of us having been designed to fit a single person, but Lint's small figure makes it easy to fit two people.

There were multiple thoughts swimming around inside my head, but the most dominant one was thinking of how to ensure that they never feel this way again. After spending so long with the two of them, the only two people I would consider to be family, I just wanted to make sure that they wouldn't suffer anymore.

Freed will not turn out like he did in canon, I will make sure of that, nor will Lint be left all alone in the Sigurd Institute after canon Siegfried and Freed's defection. I refuse to walk down the same path my canon counterpart did, otherwise I would be leaving things to break down.

I have known from the start that something was wrong with Freed. You don't start off as a normal person before turning into his canon self, you would need to have been that way from the beginning. While he doesn't show it, I can see the small signs from time to time, and i'm sure that Lint see's them as well.

I will fix Freed and Lint won't be alone, that is the only acceptable outcome.

* * *

**DxD: Völsunga - Freed Sell****zen]**

I have always known that there was something wrong with me.

For as long as I can remember, I have only been able to find happiness in the pain and misery of others.

The cause was not related to my birth, as I had been praised as a perfect success, nor was it a psychological problem. The fault lies with myself as a person.

From the moment I was born, I had never found what could make me happy. Some felt happy in the presence of their friends, while others enjoyed being by their own. A handful found joy in the world of literature while a small sample felt happiness in the arms of some of the faculty.

I've always been envious of them. Why couldn't I find happiness like they did? I tried everything I could find but in the end, nothing made me happy. While it's true that my being with Lint and Sieg makes me feel _something_, I can say with full confidence that it isn't true happiness but just a temporary solution.

It was only when Number 31 passed away due to multiple defects, and everyone was crying at the funeral when I realised what was wrong with me.

Having been surrounded by my siblings crying their eyes out, expressing all of their misery and sadness to the world, all I could feel was happiness. All I could do was smile.

Why am I like this? What kind of reason would be enough to explain why someone-_something_-like me exists?

God, who is known for his infinite wisdom and kindness, would never create such a distorted human being, right? All the stories we are told of God, all the religious texts He is mentioned in, never mention God to be this cruel.

A kind god would never create such a twisted being, therefore God must not exist. I refuse to believe in a god that would even _think_ of creating the human that is known as Freed Sellzen.

"This is your fault, isn't it?"

Ah, those eyes. Those _goddamned_ eyes. Don't look at me with those eyes, the eyes you would reserve for a criminal, a monster. I'm not a monster, it's not my fault i'm like this.

"The both of you are always clinging onto him, taking advantage of Siegfried's kindness."

I should have felt something in response to her words, at least, anyone else would have, right? Anger? Sadness, perhaps? I would even settle for mere annoyance but no, I didn't feel anything. Not towards Kriemhild, not towards myself and not towards anybody else.

_**'It would be so easy to shut her up, you know?'** The voice spoke again, the same voice that's been plaguing my thoughts for as long as I can remember, **'Just wrap your hands around her frail little neck and don't let go, she'll be down before you know it.'**_

I wonder what kind of face she would make, what it would look like to see her face in agony-

I tightened my grip on my shirt and bit down hard on my lower lip, banishing those dark thoughts to the depths of my mind.

"We're leaving. Now" Sieg cut in, forcing Kriemhild and her group to make a path for us. He grabbed both Lint and my arm, moving us forward and out of the classroom. I just want to go back to my room, i'm not even in the mood for dinner anymore.

"Even now, you still cling onto him!"

**_'Why fight who you are? It will feel so much better if you just accept it.'_**

I refuse. I refuse to accept it, I refuse to believe you and I refuse to believe that I can't find salvation. I'm-

_**'Not a monster?'** The voice scoffed, **"Who are you trying to fool? You're nothing but a monster, the most evil kind at that.'**_

I'm _not_ a monster.

**_'Deny it all you want but both you and I know that you're the worst kind of creature there is._**_**'**_

"Kriemhild." Siegfried's tone dropped instantly, a vicious glare adorning his features as he stared down Kriemhild. The air was thick with malice, malice that was pouring out of Sieg in waves that only seemed to increase as each second passed. The effect was instant; Kriemhild shut her mouth and widened her eyes, her entire frame trembling as she took a step back. Her entourage weren't spared from Sieg's anger either as they all moved away from the source of their fear.

I could feel the corners of my mouth curving ever so slightly, unmistakably forming a crooked smile.

"Shut up."

And just like that, Sieg dragged us out the classroom, leaving behind a group of terrified children. The entire journey to the cafeteria was quiet, the only sounds being that of our footsteps.

I didn't talk much during dinner; I just wanted to go to sleep, to get away from all of this.

**_'How do you think your friends will react? How will they feel, knowing that their best friend is a monster in human skin?'_**

They won't find out because I will find my purpose; I will prove that i'm not a monster.

**_'Do you really believe that?'_**

I know it.

**_'We will see just how long can you hold out until you reach your inevitable conclusion.'_** The voice finally left after that sentence, a mocking laugh following its departure.

I won't. I won't ever harm Sieg or Lint. I'll find the answer to my existence, I know I will.

_There can be no other outcome._

* * *

**And that's the end of chapter 2.**

**So what do you think of Freed and Lint's characters? They never really gave us any proper details on Freed and Lint's lives at the Sigurd Institute. The most we got was that Freed was deemed a genius at the age of 13, never believed in God and ended up being excommunicated. He couldn't have been a psychopath from the beginning and this is me showing how he's currently struggling to come to terms with himself. In a way, he's similar to Kirei Kotomine from Fate Zero, except Freed still has a chance to be saved.**

**As for Lint, she gains her personality from copying Freed's personality without the vulgar tone. That means that she should have had a different personality before, right? Just think of them as Vanilla Lint and Vanilla Freed, before their future updates.**

**And let me just say this now. Siegfried is not going to have a Sacred Gear. This Siegfried will solely rely on his swords and magic. I've seen too many SI-OC's that are all given Sacred Gears. It always ends with them being reliant on their SG's and the fights getting a bit boring since they never do anything new. That's another reason as to why I gave Siegfried Rune magic, which has almost no limit to the amount of rune-chains you can create.**

**Anyways, let's move onto the more important matters, namely his abilities. Rune magic has always been a favourite of mine due to the versatility it grants the user. I think that it's pretty cool how there is no limit to the amount of spells you can create when placed in the hands of an expert. Then I remembered that Sigurd from Fate Grand Order was taught runes by Brynhildr so I thought to myself, "Hey, you know what would be a really good idea? If I gave Siegfried Rune magic like his ancestor!"**

**As for any future abilities, well, you're going to have to wait and see, aren't you?**

**And in regards to his Harem, I've decided to not steal any of the Devils from Issei's harem. That means Rias, Akeno, Koneko, Ravel, etc. This is something else that I've seen in too many Fanfictions. The Church girls are currently a maybe, though Lint won't be in his harem since they're like siblings, and as for Asia, I have a special surprise in store for her.**

**Now to answer any questions:**

**[Morius] Answering your questions in that order:**

**1\. As stated above, Lint will not be in the harem. They're going to have a sibling relationship. It'll be hard for Lint to see Siegfried _that_ way after years of seeing him as a brother figure.**

**2\. There probably won't be any gender bends. It's not that I hate them, I just don't want to**

**3\. Again, I don't really hate the Gremory peerage. I mean yeah, Rias is a spoilt and greedy girl, but that's to be expected from a Devil, right? **

**4\. I'm actually debating on whether or not I should. I don't even know how i would introduce them into the story in the first place. Ill need more time before coming to a decision but if everyone wants it, I'll probably do it.**

**[Desropter] Just as you said, i'm planning on buffing the Demon Swords. I think the Holy Swords are fine since they are already pretty strong (True Excalibur, Caliburn, etc.). We don't get to see much of the Demon Swords showcasing their power thanks to canon Siegfried's death.**

**[Br9k3n] I'm not sure as to how regularly I can update. To begin with, i'm juggling college, work and writing all at the same time, and that's excluding my personal life, so you'll probably have to wait a while between each chapter for an update.**


	3. Damn, I Love This Life

**Disclaimer: I do not own Highschool DxD or any of the references found in this story, nor am I making any profit from this story. All original Highschool DxD characters and references belong to their rightful owners, I just own the original characters and concepts that I have created myself.**

* * *

It's amazing what a human can adapt to if they put their mind to it. When it comes to adapting to a new environment, humans are one of the best after all. Of course, none of those new environments include an entirely different world which, might I add, is completely fictional.

I think that I've been doing a good job so far. I haven't had a mental breakdown yet so that's something to be proud of, I guess.

And it helps to have knowledge of the future on standby. Thanks for that by the way, brain.

_'No problemo.'_

But moving on, I have loads of time left until canon starts. A lot of stuff went down in the Church before canon officially started; some _dark stuff _at that, with example number one being the Holy Sword project.

Rumours tend to travel fast in Vatican City, and i've already heard that the Holy Sword project has officially begun, but there's nothing to show that Valper Galilei is experimenting on children at the moment. I give it two or three more years until he jumps the gun and begins to collect children.

Now, the real question is if I should stop it. I know how it's going to end up if I just leave it to follow the same course as canon but at the same time, I could save lives in doing so at the cost of potentially ruining canon and ensuring that my knowledge would be off. In the end, I have to make the decision while deferring to either logic or basic morals.

And even if I did decide to save them, I can't do anything about it now when the project is still in its early stages. If a kid came out of nowhere and suddenly announced that the chief scientist of the project is planning on murdering children in the future, nobody's going to believe me. I'm going to need proof, lots of it.

The problem is that I can't do anything without strength in a world where might is right. Until then, I should just focus on becoming stronger.

But right now, that strength isn't needed. Instead, i'll just relax on my throne of comfort where I am the king of this fluffy kingdom. With a pillow on my left and a pillow on my right, there's nowhere else I would rather be. Just me, my fluffy bed and a couple more hours of extra sleep. I wouldn't let anything ruin this.

So of course, Murphy just _had_ to notice how comfortable I was and proceed to ruin everything.

"Siegfried." a familiar voice called. "Siegfried, it's time to wake up."

"_But I don't wanna_.._._" I half-whined, half groaned as I dug myself deeper into my pillows. Maybe if I dug deep enough, she wouldn't be able to see me?

"Siegfried." the voice spoke again with a slight edge to it. It seems that the danger has yet to be averted... "You have until the count of ten."

"Please Sis, my doctor advised against me waking up early on a Sunday."

"Ten."

"God rested on the seventh day, why can't I?"

"Nine."

"_Oh alright_!" I hissed as I tore myself away from my precious throne. I opened my eyes too quickly and had to scowl as the sunlight smacked me in the face. I rubbed my eyes and blinked a couple of times to see the face of the woman who was a mother figure for most, if not all, descendants.

Sister Sophia's brown eyes were filled with amusement as she pulled back the curtains, letting the sunlight rush in. Her hair was hidden by her headscarf like all the other nuns who would visit from time to time and a silver cross was dangling from her neck.

"I'll tell you what. Go and create an entire world and I might think about letting you sleep in." she smirked. Her smirk disappeared instantly when I actually went into thought on how to create an entire world. It's not impossible, I would just have to become a god, right? Just get some people to worship me, gather faith around the planet and-

"Ow!" I cried out when Sister Sophia smacked the back of my head. I glared at her but cowered when she glared back.

"Don't think of such blasphemous thoughts." she warned with narrowed eyes. "And don't forget to tidy your room, it's filthy!" I could only nod dumbly as she huffed and began to leave my room.

With a heavy heart, I lifted myself up from my pillows and stretched my arms above me with a yawn. I looked around and yep, my room is pretty messy. I have the whole day to clean it, it should be fine if I leave it for a couple of hours.

I dragged myself away from my bed-_my precious_-and put on my slippers before making my way to the bathroom. I passed by Freed and Lint's rooms on the way but saw that they were already empty. I guess they must have already woken up; I should hurry up if I want to eat breakfast with them.

I woke up too late so I won't have enough time to get my morning practice done, but since it's Sunday, I can probably leave it for a later time. After all, I have the whole day.

After brushing my teeth and washing my face, I rinsed out my mouth with water and dried my face with a towel. I checked myself in the mirror to see if I missed anything and one handsome smile later, left the bathroom in a hurry, ready to start another day in this new life.

* * *

"Come on, you can do it!"

"T-twenty... Six! Twenty seven!"

"I think he's about to reach his limit, Lint. Maybe you should get off his back?"

"N-no! I can... Keep g-going! Twenty eight!"

Freed, Lint and I were in the Institute gardens as we relaxed. Well, Freed and Lint were relaxing. I was going through my daily exercise again. I decided to punish myself by having Lint sit on my back as I went through my push-ups. Don't ask me why, I don't know myself. Freed thinks that I might have hit my head when I woke up while Lint, sweet little Lint, doesn't really care so long as she can be of help to me.

Have I mentioned that Lint is the cutest little thing ever? Because she really is.

"T-thirty!" I finished as Lint finally left her throne on my back. I collapsed with a dull thud as I sucked in as much air as I could while Freed closed his book and helped me up along with Lint.

"Are you finished?" Freed asked from under my arm. I nodded in response, too tired to form an answer as Freed began to carry me away. We had a tight schedule that I almost ruined today thanks to sticking to my training regimen.

Next up, it's time we go and visit a friend!

It wasn't too hard getting permission to leave the Institute grounds. We were fixed with a tracking device and told to be back in an hour, an order that we easily accepted. Our destination was the main Vatican headquarters. On the way, we got a small meal and decided to pick up a couple of gifts along the way.

Exactly ten minutes later, we stood outside the enterance of the ST Peter's Basilica, also known as the largest church in the world and the main headquarters of the Vatican. It was just as easy getting permission to enter as it was to leave the Sigurd Institute; just a couple of rules and warnings to follow during our stay.

It took us less than five minutes navigating through the halls of the main headquarters as we were already accustomed to the many hallways. We had finally arrived upon our final destination, namely the benches located directly below the roof on a balcony. There, we found one of our close friends waiting for us with a happy smile plastered on her face.

"Asia!" Lint was the first to call out as she strode forward with a smile of her own. Asia turned around and I swear, her smile seemed to brighten even more than I thought possible. Seriously, Gilgamesh would have wanted to store that kind of treasure in his Gate of Babylon.

Asia Argento, the "**Holy Priestess**" of the Church and wielder of **Twilight Healing**. We had visited her during our numerous outings to Vatican City, though it was one of the first things I had done upon being let out. There was no way that I would leave her all by herself, my bleeding heart just wouldn't allow it. She was forcefully placed on a pedestal that she never wanted and used as a figure head by the clergy.

And then she healed a devil. Having seen that she was able to heal a Devil, thus going against what they stood for, the Church had discarded her like a piece of trash. With nowhere to go and nobody to go to, she was forced to seek refuge with the Fallen

Not this time.

Consider this my first big change to the canon of the story. Asia Argento is not going to be excommunicated. She's going to have friends in the Vatican, no matter how many old crones complain about it. _Dildodora_ can eat shit. In fact, i'm going to make sure that we're all there for when that shifty-eyed cocksucker shows up.

So yeah. I planned on befriending Asia before canon and making sure that she wouldn't be excommunicated from the Church. Besides, it's not like she can't be friends with Issei in the future, at least, not with the peace treaty that's going to be made between the Three Biblical Factions.

I snuck a glance to my right and just as I expected, Freed's cheeks were accented by a faint blush. I had never planned on Freed latching onto her like a lovesick puppy, yet here we were. It's kind of ironic to be honest. Canon Freed was an absolute dick to her and even threatened to rape her, but now? Now, Freed just wants to spend as much time as possible with her.

But hey, i'm not about to complain. If it means that Freed won't lose his shit later on, then i'm all up for it. Freed x Asia, lets make this a thing people!

"Oh? What's this? Did little Freed missed Asia?" I smirked when Freed's blush intensified. "Can't handle being separated from his precious friend?"

"S-shut up!"

"You just stuttered."

"Just drop it already!"

"You're still blushing-ow!"

We were interrupted by Asia and Lint, the two girls having a difficult time trying to restrain their laughs at the good show of teasing. I rubbed my shoulder, trying to ignore the death-stare I could feel originating from Freed.

"So how have you been doing?" I asked Asia as I moved away from Freed. "It must have been annoying, constantly being hounded by those old crones."

Freed frowned at that statement before chastising me. "Sieg, you shouldn't talk about people behind their backs."

"But he's not entirely wrong." Lint helpfully added. I held out my hand towards Asia with a grin as we shared a high-five, much to Freed's disappointment as he shook his head.

"Freed is right; you shouldn't talk behind someone's back." Asia defended Freed. Said boy directed a smug grin towards us but it faltered at Asia's next words. "But yes, the _old crones_ have been more strict than usual." Lint and I gave Freed the exact same smug grin he gave us less than ten seconds ago, basking in our small victory.

Due to canon Asia having been raised with the bare minimum of human interaction, her social skills were practically non-existent. However, now that she has three friends close to her age, I didn't doubt that I would see some personality changes in the future. She's still the same as her canon self but she's also a lot more confident in herself, able to tease and show some attitude.

"But enough of them," Asia smiled as we all sat down next to her. "This is the only time of day that we get for ourselves, I don't want to waste it by talking about the priests."

"Well said!" I agreed as I wiped the tears that had begun to form in the corner of my eyes. "Which is why we brought these with us!" Freed understood the signal and reached backwards, pulling out every single gift we had bought on the way here. Asia's eyes lit up with barely contained excitement as each gift was placed in front of her.

"Happy birthday!" Freed, Lint and I all cheered together, arms spread wide. Asia switched her gaze from the gifts to us in an instant before proceeding to jump into the waiting embrace. We easily caught her but the force of her action caused the entire bench to fall backwards; all four of us collapsed into a messy pile of limbs with Freed and I taking most of the impact against the ground.

We remained in that position for a couple of seconds before Lint started giggling. Asia soon followed before Freed and I also joined in.

Asia doesn't have to be alone anymore. Freed is healing. Lint is happy.

It's times like these that i'm truly grateful for this second life.

* * *

Unfortunately, our visit was as short as always. We stayed with her for forty minutes before we had to go back, but not before promising to visit her again tomorrow.

The walk back to the Institute was a quite one, with only small talk being the main topic of our conversations. Along the way, we saw some of the other descendants and Institute workers who were on their way back from their own outings.

Upon entering the Institute-good old home-we went to the front desk to get our ankle bracelets removed. Now that we're back, they don't really need to monitor our whereabouts anymore. It's not like we're planning on escaping Vatican City but they just prefer knowing where we are.

Looking at the closest clock, I saw that we still had at at least two hours until it was time for dinner. I suppose I could just hang out with Freed and Lint rather than train myself ragged. Again. Now that I think about it, maybe I should slow down with my training regimen? After all, I have one year left until I begin my exorcist training and it would end up clashing with my own regimen. Besides, my training regimen was just so that I would get a head start on my current generation which consists of monsters like Vali and Sairaorg. Hell, loath as I am to admit it, even Issei ends up becoming a force to be reckoned with, though that's mainly thanks to the plot armour.

Damn plot armour.

But right now, I don't have to worry about that. I can just take this time to relax with Freed and Lint, and-

**!?**

I felt it, a sudden surge of malice directed towards me. I instantly grabbed Freed and Lint from their collars, halting their movements. Not long ago, I had inscribed a couple of runes into various articles of clothing that I owned which would create a mobile Bounded Field with me at the centre. It's aim was simple: it would detect and inform me of anyone who would enter it with malice directed towards either me or Freed and Lint, who I had registered into the Bounded Field. Right now, I could feel the target at the other end of the corridor, about to take the turn leading to us.

The question is, who is it? I don't think I had done anything to warrant that kind of anger from anyone in the Institute, and I don't talk to a lot of people when I leave the Institute.

My question was answered not long after as the stranger finally revealed themselves. Sister Sophia was standing at the end of the corridor, an annoyed scowl on her face. Her eyes locked onto my frame instantly as her scowl shifted to a more neutral expression. I could easily detect the silent promise of pain that would surely be delivered in the next moment.

... Ah, that's right. I forgot to tidy my room, didn't I?

I smiled. She smiled back.

"I can explain." I quickly defended, my feet slowly shifting themselves to back away from the threat standing a distance away from me.

"I don't think you can." she replied sweetly, her voice greatly contrasting with the golden magic circle that grew in the palm of her right hand.

"Come on Lint, we're leaving Sieg to deal with his own mess." Freed held Lint's hand as he began to lead her away. Hah! As if Lint's going to leave me to die alone-

"Alright. Bye Sieg!" Lint waved farewell, a smile on her face as she and Freed left the area. Traitors!

"I told you to clean your room." Sister Sophia spoke with a disturbingly steady voice. "Why didn't you clean your room?"

"I was late for breakfast and the best meal sets would have ran out-" "You and I both know that Freed and Lint always get your lunch for you."

"Freed and Lint were waiting for me-" "They can survive without your presence for what, five? Ten minutes?"

I found myself unable to move from my spot. Looking down, I noticed the array of runes surrounding me, limiting my movements. When did she even put those down?

"I had to take a huge dump! It was like _thiiiiis_ long and-" I didn't get to finish my sentence as her hand grabbed a hold of my head, lifting me off the ground with an iron grip. There was nothing I could do anymore so I did the next best thing that would somewhat alleviate me of my punishment.

"Please be gentle?" To her credit, she actually thought about humouring my request.

"Twenty should do it." she replied as her arms reached forward and darkness overtook my vision.

_**Two minutes later...**_

"I don't want to say I told you so..." Freed began as he stood right outside my room.

"Good, because I don't want to hear it." I interrupted, looking away from my work to glare at him.

"But he _did_ tell you." Lint added helpfully, a grin adorning her face.

"Quiet." I replied curtly as I folded the last article of clothing, placing it at the top of the neat pile I had made. As promised, Sister Sophia did hold back on me but holding back doesn't mean much when her slaps are enhanced by magic. Fortunately, the healing stones that I had created were doing their job as my rear end was slowly, but surely, feeling a lot more better than before.

Seriously, what is it with the DxDverse and spanking? (**A/N: You got something you want to tell us, Ishibumi?**)

* * *

I'm starting to get bored of this same old routine that we follow every single day.

Wake up. Eat. Study. Break. Studying again. Lunch. You guessed it, more studying. Break. Dinner and finally, going back to bed.

I mean sure, I enjoy spending time with Freed, Lint and Asia but I hate being confined in Vatican City. I don't know how the others feel about it but I make sure not to hide my thoughts on the matter. Of course, the Institute workers just wave it off as nonsense before going back to whatever they were doing.

So tell me folks, how can a nine year old descendent of the most famous dragonslayer in history, like myself, find a way to connect to the world outside the city?

The answer lies in this! Kingdoms have risen and empires have turned to dust from its power! It has tainted the most purest of saints in the darkest of black and redeemed even the most heinous criminals known to man! Mods were born! Pubescent children worldwide are corrupted every day! Furry porn was created! It is...

_**Sumanai-San has entered the **_**_chat._**

**[CaptainLevi: Too you long enough, Sumanai-San!]**

**[CrimsonSentaiX: Welcome back, Sumanai-San.]**

The internet.

Sad to say but this is the only method I have to communicate with the world outside of the city. I've only made a couple of accounts so far since it isn't easy trying to get myself some personal time on the computers. Not when everyone wants to play games on them. Luckily for me, the library has a couple of computers that anyone hardly uses.

**[Sumanai-San: Where's Smartest_Fly? I thought he would be online.]**

**[CrimsonSentaiX: He's currently busy. He said he'll be online tomorrow for sure.]**

**[CaptainLevi: Forget about him and listen to this! My little sister made me a gift all on her own!]**

Somehow, I don't remember how, this thread had ended up becoming a place where elder siblings would gather. I can't really remember what it started off as but nowadays, all we do is just brag about our siblings or ask for advice. Of course, it's still a nice thread to visit from time to time, though we have to get rid of the more... _expressive_ siblings.

**[CrimsonSentaiX: Hoh? Not bad. However, my sister and I spending all of yesterday together!]**

**[CaptainLevi: What?!]**

**[CrimsonSentaiX: That's right. We were out all day, spending quality time together!****]**

**_Strongest_Fire_Chicken has entered the chat._**

**[Strongest_Fire_Chicken: ****Greetings everyone.]**

**[Sumanai-San: Hey.]**

**[CaptainLevi: Sup.]**

**[CrimsonSentaiX: Welcome back.]**

**[Strongest_Fire_Chicken: So what seems to be happening now? Bragging contest again?]**

**[Sumanai-San: Got it in one!]**

**[Strongest_Fire_Chicken: I see. In that case, I got to sleep together with my younger sister last night.]**

**[CaptainLevi: WHAT!? THAT ISN'T FAIR!]**

**[CrimsonSentaiX: Tch! As much as I hate to say it, that is quite impressive!]**

**[Strongest_Fire_Chicken: How about you, Sumanai-San? You've been quiet for a while.]**

**[Sumanai-San: Heh, I hope you're all ready because i've officially pulled ahead of all three of you! I have another younger sister!]**

**[CaptainLevi: Another younger sister? Like, two of them? Two adorable, younger sisters?]**

**[Sumanai-San: And they call me "Onii-chan" ;D]**

**_CaptainLevi has left the chat._**

**[CrimsonSentaiX: I think that Sumanai-San has won this one. Anyways, I should probably go and stop CaptainLevi from breaking something.]**

**[Strongest_Fire_Chicken: Or someone. Unfortunately, I will have to go as well. I was planning on staying online until I arrived at work. I shall see you next time.]**

**[Sumanai-San: That's fine. I wasn't planning on staying online for too long either. See you guys next time.]**

**[CrimsonSentaiX: Goodbye, Sumanai-San.]**

_**CrimsonSentaiX has left the chat.**_

_**Strongest_Fire_Chicken has left the chat.**_

Well that was awfully short. I suppose I should just move onto the next website...

Hmm? What's that sound? I can hear a commotion coming from outside the library. I pushed myself away from the computer and moved towards the window where I was easily able to see what was happening from my place at the second floor of the building.

In the garden, there were three boys currently cornering a girl. Is she... Is she being bullied? Well spank my ass and call me Betty, she _is_ being bullied! This looks like a job for our friendly neighbourhood Childman!

I turned around, logged out the computer and just bolted like a mad man. Everyone in front of me just moved aside, some of the kids even looked afraid. I wonder why? Ah right, the feral grin on my face. I was sporting a smile that showed far too many teeth for anyone's liking.

Upon arrival, I saw that while they still hadn't harmed the girl in any way, they looked to be dangerously close to doing so. Without anymore hesitation, I pushed one of the kids-let's call him Dick for now-away from the girl and stood between them as I crossed my arms. There's three of them and one of me. If this ends up becoming a fight, i'll be taking the three of them on by myself.

I like the sound of them odds.

"You fools who dare to attack the innocent!" I began, one hand covering my face and the other stretched out, "I have seen your crimes! Do not think that this protector of the innocent shall let you off easily!"

They're staring at me like im an idiot. Technically I am but I am having way too much fun right now to care. I'm a descendant of a famous hero who just came across an act of injustice, there is no way that i'm _not_ going to roleplay.

"Who are you meant to be?" Dick sneers as he raised his chubby limbs menacingly. Does this kid really think he can scare me? Please, Sister Sophia's wooden ladle is more of an emotional threat than you'll ever be.

"Who am I? I am the one who pierces through the heavens! My blade of righteousness reaches all evil-doers and my fists of justice crush those who prey on the innocent!" I shot my hand up into the air and rested my other on my hip, "I am a Hero of Justice! And I will-!"

That little bitch! He punched me before I could finish!

"Get him!" Dick screams at his posse. The lanky kid with glasses, who I shall now call Megane-kun, and the fat kid behind him, henceforth dubbed as Tank, charged forward, fists raised and ready to pummel.

**_Fifteen seconds later..._**

This...may not have been one of my best ideas. Three against one had sounded so much better in my mind. You know, where I was winning.

I swung my right arm and two of the boys suddenly went flying. I blinked and stared at my hand before looking up again. Nope, that wasn't me. It was the blue missile that charged in like a wild animal.

"I'll kill you!" The blue missile snarled. No wait, that isn't a missile, it's another boy. A _very_ angry looking boy.

_**Angry Child has joined the fight!**_

I lashed out with my leg, sweeping Megane-kun. As soon as he hits the ground, I jumped on him and we began exchanging blows. This is actually my first fight so I have no idea what I'm doing. I flail my limbs about, feeling some of then actually connect and push myself away from him.

I quickly stand up and find that he did the same. I was reminded of our resident Tank when he turned me around and punched me in the face. Bitch, that's going to leave a mark, even if it didn't hurt. I fall on ground and he mounts me, throwing punches at my face. I raised my arms in a guard, leaving my handsome face intact while Megane-kun just stands there smirking.

As soon as I saw an opportunity, I raised my knee and nailed him right in his nutsack. He didn't scream as he so much squealed, falling off and clutching his nuts. I cackled as I got up, ready to deliver some payback when Megane-kun decides to leave spectator mode and charges me. I bite back a curse as I land on the ground yet again and-

Oh hey, that cloud looks like a bunny.

I was interrupted once again when Megane-kun decided to punch me in the face. He's a lot lighter than Tank so it was easy getting him off me. I kicked him away and punched him in the stomach. As he hunched over, I raised my other arm and screamed, "GOD HAND!", bringing my fist down on the back of his head.

All of a sudden, I hear my ally spew out some pretty dark words and Dick fell down on the ground. He tries to get up but I tackle him back down. Huh, the view is so much nicer when I'm the one mounting someone else-_that's what she said!_

My fists rain down on his body, attacking anywhere i can. I managed to land some good blows before he tried to force me off with sheer strength. Unfortunately for him, i've been working out. It was an easy task to force him back onto the ground and begin my assault once more. From the corner of my eye, I noticed that his knee was positioned directly below my-

**?!£?$%?!**

I let out a small cry as I clutched my nether region. I don't care what anyone says, I was not crying. Nope. It was just the rain. Yes, that's right. It was raining on a sunny day with no clouds nearby, that's all that happened.

Before Dick could kick me, the boy came out of nowhere and clung onto Dick's back like the freaking spider-monkey he is, pulling him back down onto the ground. They were a mess of tangled limbs as punches and kicks were delivered. He backed off from Dick after receiving a nasty kick to the stomach, forcing him to get off him.

I shared a quick glance with the stranger before the both of us nodded. We both charged at Dick together and teamed up on him. We weathered every blow sent our way and retaliated with more intensity. It was a fight that would go down in legends; the legend of King Arthur's got nothing on us. The fight went on for longer than I would have wanted but we finally managed to take him down in the end.

So there we were. Three kids groaning on the ground and two bloodied kids grinning like a pack of wild animals. We just took down a group of three at the age of 9, this is definitely going into my auto biography. Dick got up again but grabbed his friends and left as a whimpering mess.

_**Battle complete! You found 2 potential friends and 1 potential imouto-material!**_

I took in the appearance of my unexpected ally: blue hair and crimson eyes, shared by the younger girl standing behind the two of us. Looking closer, I saw that he was missing a tooth. Not just that but his hair was all messed up, he had a cut on his lip and there was a rather nasty bruise on his left cheek. I had no doubt I was looking just as bad as he was, if not worse, but we couldn't stop grinning like idiots.

"My name's Rion, and that's Riel over there. We're from the Sivrit series." the boy greeted as he offered a handshake. I grasped his hand firmly and shook it, the grin never leaving neither of our faces.

_**Riel and Rion have joined the party!**_

"Siegfried of the Völsung series, nice to meet you." I greeted before turning to the girl in question. I noticed a while ago that she never stopped staring at me. It was honestly starting to become a little bit unnerving. "Uhh... Nice to meet you."

"Hn." She replied before moving to stand behind Rion who looked a bit disappointed. The three of us turned around when we heard voices coming our way, the Institute workers' voices to be exact. From the tone of their voices, and the way Dick, Tank and Megane-kun are crying, they sounded pretty angry. It won't be hard for me to turn this situation around to make me and our resident twins out to be the victims.

Daily workouts, magic training, two adorable little sister figures, and now I get to fight children and get away with a warning.

_Damn, I love this life._

* * *

**I LOVE EVERY SINGLE ONE OF YOU FILTHY DEGENERATES!**

**I didn't think that this story would get so many follows and favourites with just two chapters! Seriously guys, 509 followers, 348 favourites and 1 community in just two chapters! Thank you for that, it seriously makes me happy seeing how many people like this story.**

**I've actually had ideas for multiple stories and tried writing up more but after a couple of PM's, I decided to focus on this story for now. I'll probably publish more stories later on though.**

**As for the Fate characters, I've decided not to use them. This is because if i just keep throwing in Fate characters, it may as well be a DxD Fate crossover. However, i will include the weapons and abilities of the Nasuverse, as well as hero descendants.**

**Also, let me know if you prefer long chapt****ers updated between long intervals or short chapters updated more regularly.**

**So Riel and Rion, the next two members of our story have been introduced! I will admit that their appearance is modelled after that of Cu Chulainn from the Nasuverse, but that's where the similarities will end; they won't really have anything to do with him. Anyways, these two are not going to be as consistent as the main cast but they'll still show up during critical parts of the story.**

**Next chapter is going to be when they're inducted into the Training Program so look forward to that.**

**And now to reply to some of the reviews:**

**[DisgruntledSlav] Yeah, that was an accident. I've already fixed that little mistake but thanks for bringing it up. As for Freed, he isn't completely like Kotomine Kirei. He actually has a chance at redemption, though I guess it isn't that easy to tell.**

**[Xandou] To be honest, I was planning on leaving it as Rune magic as I don't want him to be similar to any other heroes other than Sigurd and Siegfried. Well, that was the plan but i've seen multiple reviews asking as to whether or not Siegfried will be wielding Gae Bolg. If more people want to see Siegfried wielding Gae Bolg, then I suppose i'll have to think about it. **

**[Kensei-1085] CQC is definitely going to be a part of his arsenal. As for Fate characters, I've already stated above that there won't be any Fate characters being introduced. As for canon!Siegfried being lame... Yeah, he was pretty lame. That was actually my reason behind this fanfic. He wielded five demon swords but died far too early, and we never even got to see his weapons in full action. So yes, this fanfiction is essentially being fuelled by sheer spite towards canon. **

**[ArashiSenju] Sorry buddy but Siegfried won't be joining a peerage. I don't want him to be joining any peerages but I may have to think about whether or not he should reincarnate as an Angel or not. I suppose we'll both have to wait and see what happens later on, eh?**

**[Gen2324] As interesting as it sounds, there is no way for him to obtain Fafnir's wisdom by eating his heart. To do so would require him killing Fafnir, which isn't a walk in the park. Fafnir is also going to be important later on in the story, just as he was in canon. Now, bathing in his blood is an entirely separate matter...**


	4. Goodbye School, Hello Training Program!

**Disclaimer: I do not own Highschool DxD or any of the references found in this story, nor am I making any profit from this story. All original Highschool DxD characters and references belong to their rightful owners, I just own the original characters and concepts that I have created myself.**

* * *

"Sieg, wake up! Today's your first day!"

I groaned into my pillow before flipping my body over, checking the time.

"Lint." I began, "There's still have an hour left until we have to leave, why are you waking me up now?"

Lint had the gall to look offended at my question.

"Because it's your first day! How can you not be excited? You're finally moving away from all the boring stuff!"

She has a point. All we've done for the last five years were basic studies; even I was starting to get a bit annoyed at the lack of action these last five years. However, my wish for more sleep won out in the end as I pulled the covers back over my head, eliciting a growl from Lint.

"Oh no you don't! Not this time!" she ripped my covers away from me, forcing me into the cold embrace of the morning air. "Come on already! You too, Freed!"

An incoherent mumbling could be heard from the other end of the room. I could pick up the traces of annoyance, defiance and the small sense of resignation in my roommate's voice.

I tried to fight back but in the end, I had already lost the need to go back to sleep. It wasn't easy going back to sleep with Lint continuously coming over to annoy me until I got out of bed. With an extra loud and exaggerated groan, I got out of bed and forced myself to the restroom to get myself ready.

Freed entered the restroom right after I was finished as I began to change my clothes. We were given our new uniforms two days ago by the faculty members. They all shared the same appearance of buttoned, white vestments. The female uniform was a bit more different though; they consisted of the same white vestments but also a black skirt and matching shoes.

Lint didn't react at all to my stripping. I guess years of me sleeping in her room has given her an immunity to these kind of things. Of course, I didn't miss the subtle glances towards my stomach area. My training regimen has done wonders for me; I was already beginning to form a six-pack, albeit a small one, but it was still there.

Heh, a ripped ten-year old paints a funny image.

After Freed left the bathroom, he began to change his clothes while Lint and I just sat on my bed, talking and waiting for him to finish. After he was fully clothed and we were all ready, we left our bedroom and closed the door behind us before making our way to the cafeteria.

* * *

"Good morning." "Morning." Riel and Rion greeted us once we arrived at our usual table. They were easy to find considering how much their blue hair stood out.

Rion looked a bit tired, no doubt having stayed up again reading books while Riel looked as inexpressive as usual.

Breakfast was more lively than usual, mainly because today was the day that the oldest generation of Sigurd descendants would be officially inducted into the Exorcist Training Program. Every dining table in the cafeteria was filled with overly excited children, all showing each other their timetables.

Our table was just as loud as the rest of them, no thanks to Lint squabbling with Rion. The two of them just can't seem to get along, a far cry compared to her sister-like relationship with Riel. She still isn't used to being confident on her own but so long as one of us are nearby, we don't really have to worry about her.

Freed is still the same as always, quiet and prefers to analyse a situation before intervening. He's slowly starting to show positive signs of recovery; he smiles more often, appreciates more jokes and has begun to talk to other people, though he still holds himself back from speaking his troubles aloud.

"Sieg, why are you looking at me like that?"

"Now not, I'm in the middle of an inner monologue."

"What?"

"Hey Freed, Rion. Let me see your timetables." I asked with a mouthful of food, ignoring Freeds question.

"Sure." "Don't talk with your mouth full." Once again, I ignored Freed's admonishment as the two of them placed their plastic handouts on the centre of the table, and I in turn placed my own on the table.

For today, I had Magic Theory first, then Sword Training, Physical Training, an hour break and finally, Combat Training. I won't be taking any marksmanship lessons, since I can't hit my target without somehow managing to shoot myself in the foot, so I'll be focusing on what I _can_ do: swordsmanship and magic.

Freed's timetable consisted of Combat Training, General Weapon Mastery, Marksmanship, an hour break and Physical Training for last. It looks like Freed is aiming to be a jack of all trades with the classes he chose to attend.

As for Rion, his timetable consisted of Marksmanship, Combat Training, Archery, an hour break and Physical Training at the end. It seems that with the courses Rion chose, he is mainly focusing on ranged combat.

Between each lesson, we're given a five to ten minute break with the last break being the longest, thus used for lunch. The last session finishes at 3:30 PM, leaving us with two and a half hours before we have to be back at the Institute.

All of the exorcists in training are given a timetable that consists of two core classes: Combat Training and Physical Training. Each session lasts an hour and a half, and we get a ten minute break before moving to the next one.

Physical Training is exactly what it sounds like: training our bodies. As for Combat Training, we're going to be training with each other or have an instructor go up against us. They'll be teaching us how to use weapons, CQC, battle strategies, etc. Basically, anything that can help us in a fight against human and non-human opponents, and at the end of every month, we'll be holding a small class tournament to assess everyone's skills at the same time, as well as determine the class ranking.

My ranking in the class is _obviously_ going to be number one because I'm _obviously_ amazing and you can't tell me otherwise.

Anyways, Combat Training and Physical Training are the only two classes that are mandatory. Between those two classes, every trainee is put into another class depending on their personal choices. I have no idea how well I'll do in regard to Holy Scriptures, the main magic theory of the Church. I know that I'm good enough to use magic without blowing myself up but that's only with human magic based on calculations. Faith powered magic is a completely separate matter.

Oh well, I'll cross that bridge when I get to it.

I have one session of Sword Training and Magic Theory a day, every day of the week except for Sunday, with each session lasting for an hour and a half, sometimes two hours if the trainees can still go on.

As soon as we finished our breakfast, we all got up, said goodbye to Lint and Riel and left the Institute, ready for our first day of training.

* * *

It didn't take us long to arrive at the training facility. Freed, Rion and I bade each other farewell before making our way to our respective classrooms.

I had arrived early, leaving me with time to choose my seat for the year. Once again, I chose the seat in the top row, all the way at the back of the classroom. I suppose five years of sitting in the back has rubbed off on me, I feel uncomfortable when I sit anywhere else at this point.

I waited quietly, watching as my new classmates entered the classroom one by one. If I was going to spend an entire four years with them, I should at least look for anyone who'll stand out. So far, I haven't seen many noteworthy individuals; I could count them with a single hand.

I pulled out my Elder Futhark notebook once more. Ahh, my old friend. How I've missed you, you're the only one I need in this world~

And now, it's time for innovation! I cackled like an evil scientist, having begun to think on how to improve a destruction rune and turn it into a fuel air bomb, and simultaneously scaring the group standing near me. I can already see my reputation falling down the drain but oh well.

It had only been ten minutes when there was a sudden clamour at the classroom entrance. I looked up from my notebook, seeing the cause of said clamour being a girl. Long blonde hair, bright blue eyes, a calm smile plastered on her face. She was the textbook definition of popular.

"Jeanne? As in, the Holy Maiden?" The classroom was filled with murmurs as everyone's attention was focused on Jeanne. She flinched, her smile slightly faltering before she put it back up again. Ah, so it's one of _those_ situations, huh? They only want to be friends with her due to her connection to Joan of Arc, hence a connection with the upper-echelon of the Church.

"That's right, I am the inheritor of the spirit of the Maiden of Orléans. Please treat me well."

The classroom became louder with her introduction, students rushing forward to try to meet the so-called Holy Maiden. So this is Jeanne, huh? She really looks like her canon counterpart, but more cuter. Maybe it's because she's still a kid? Kids are cute after all, but not as cute as Lint and Asia.

Lint and Asia are the cutest, fucking fight me.

* * *

_**Gremory Household...**_

"Sirzechs? Is there a problem?"

"No, everything is fine. I just feel the slightest sense of... anger?"

* * *

_**Sitri Household...**_

"Serafall, what's wrong? You've hardly touched your plate."

"I don't know why but I feel kind of... provoked?"

* * *

I could see that the waves of students desperate to meet her was starting to grate on her nerves, though she did a good job not showing it. I suppose that as a Holy Maiden, she can't show those kind of feelings, huh?

What a sad existence.

Thank god I'm just a test-tube baby-_wow_. I never thought I would _ever_ get to say that.

"That is so sad. Alexa, play Despacito." I muttered under my breath before giggling like an idiot.

Luckily, she was given a moment of respite when the instructor entered the classroom, forcing all the student to go back to their seats. I was putting away my notebook when a voice suddenly made itself known beside me.

"Hey. Move your bag over."

I turned around with a slight glare, ready to scare off my visitor when I paused. As soon as I noted who it was, I let out a resigned sigh. "Alright." I answered after a couple of seconds, lifting my bag from the empty seat beside me and placing it on the floor.

Svanhild of the Volsung series sat down next to me with a slight huff as she crossed her arms. Just like the rest of the Volsung series, she had black hair tied back in a ponytail and red eyes.

"So why are you sitting here when there are empty seats everywhere?" I asked, having never lifted my head from the table.

"Does it matter?" she shot back with a raised eyebrow. I gave her a deadpan stare before she sighed. "We Sigurd descendants should stick together, at least, that's what I think." At this, she stared down at the clamouring students with a slight frown.

She must have felt my stare as she began to slightly fidget in her seat with clear discomfort.

"... You're shy, aren't you." It was less of a question and more of a statement, one that was confirmed by the girl in question when she suddenly blushed a storm in embarrassment. Even if she seems more mature than the rest of the first generation, she's surprisingly easy to read.

"Shut up! You're shy!"

"There there, it'll be alright now." I consoled as I began to pat her head. She momentarily froze before scowling and smacking my hand away with a hiss.

"Alright everybody, get to your seats. Class is about to begin." a female voice rang out. Turning to the front, I saw that our new instructor had already entered the room and was standing in front of the board.

Our instructor was wearing a nun outfit, complete with a pair of sharp glasses adorning her face and a cross hanging around her neck. "My name is Kiara D'Aiello. You are to address me as "Professor D'Aiello" or just "Professor", and in return I shall be your Magic Theory instructor for the next three years. I'll be starting with the roll call before I gauge your magic potential. After that, the lesson will start."

As she began to call out the trainees' names one by one, I laid my chin on the table as I stretched out my arms. Looking over to my right, I could see that Svanhild had a small smile plastered on her face, one that was matched by my own. We were both looking forward to move onto the next level after five years of studying back at the Institute.

"Svanhild!"

"Present!" Svanhild replied. Her name got a couple of curious gazes sent our way, most of them calculating. Looking down, I could see Jeanne's eyes showing the same curiosity.

"Siegfried!"

"Here." I replied, raising a single arm in response. My name seemed to gain some recognition in the classroom as a murmurs were being traded.

After Professor D'Aiello finished the roll call, she put the list of names on her desk and stood in front of her desk. "Alright, now I'm going to need everyone to come to the front one by one." she announced, pulling out a crystal shard from nowhere. Seriously, where did that come from? "This crystal has been used for years by the Church as a device to measure one's magic power, and it scales by number. The higher your number, the greater your magic potential, with the highest being 1000. Now, please line up in front of the desk and we can begin."

The students quickly got up and rushed forward, eager to discover their potential for magic. It was times like these that I hated sitting in the back but oh well, the middle of the queue isn't that bad. Svanhild was standing right in front of me, having rushed forward with me, while a couple of students-the less confident bunch who didn't want to make a big deal out of it-were making their way more slowly and sticking to the back.

"Place your hand on the crystal and we can begin." Professor ordered. The student at the front-I think his name is Gunther?-had a shaky smile on his face as he rested his hand on the crystal. The crystal began to hum, releasing a weak glow as the counter continued to increase before stopping at 152.

"152? Not bad. That's a higher number than I would have expected from a newbie, especially someone who just opened their Magic Core recently." Professor D'Aiello mused before sending him back to his seat. Gunther pumped his fists in the air as he made his way back in a good mood. The rest of the standing students were beginning to look a lot more nervous now, no thanks to Gunther's high score.

"Next!"

The rest of the students placed their hands on the crystal one by one, but the scores weren't as impressive as the first. There were a couple of students that reached over the 100 threshold but the rest were all below it.

Finally, it was Svanhild's turn. She strode forward confidently, a calm look on her face as she placed her hand over the crystal. The counter instantly began at 50, rather than from the start. It continued to rise higher and higher until finally settling for 310, earning a chorus of gasps from the spectators.

"240? That is an impressive number for a beginner. Rather than just using magic, you have the potential to become a fully fledged Magician." she fixed Svanhild with a calculating gaze before giving her an actual bona-fide smile. "I expect a lot from you this year Miss Svanhild."

Svanhild thanked her and made her way back to her seat as the next person was called forward. "Next!"

Oh, it's my turn.

I took a step forward towards the crystal. Now that I'm standing here, it's a lot more nerve-wracking than I thought. Everyone was staring at me, waiting to see what kind of number I would produce. I could already hear my classmates dismissing my score, having already decided that I'm going to follow Sigurd's path of pure swordsmanship.

None of them know that my Magic Core has already been awakened for the last three years, do they? I wonder what score I would get with a three-year old Magic Core.

I placed my hand on the crystal and winced as the number jumped straight to 100 before steadily climbing and reaching 200.

300.

400.

500.

I turned around, a shaky smile on my face as I took note of the way everyone's jaws dropped. I removed my hand when the crystal finally reached a stop at 512. Looking up towards the back, I could see Svanhild's eyes widen at my score before turning into a more motivated expression.

Ah great, now I'm going to have a rival. This is starting to feel like an anime trope.

"You, how long has your Magic Core been awakened for?" the Professor asked, a small semblance of surprise painted on her face though she hid it quite well. She looked satisfied at my answer before gesturing me to go back to my seat. "I'll be expecting a lot from you as well, Mr Siegfried."

I trudged back to my seat as my classmates were still staring at me with quiet shock before Professor D'Aiello cleared her throat, focusing the attention back to her.

"Now, let us continue." As she spoke those words, she gestures for the next person to come forward. There wasn't anything amazing about the scores, most of them bordering the 100 threshold.

Finally, it was Jeanne's turn. She walked forward, showing some signs of hesitation before placing her hand on the crystal.

As soon as her hand made contact with the crystal, the counter instantly jumped to 300.

It only continued to rise rapidly after that. 400. 500. 600. 700. It has finally hit it's limit of 999 before exploding gloriously in a shower of crystals.

Pure silence.

A quick glance at the culprit herself showed that she wasn't hiding her displeasure at the... expected result?

D'Aiello cleared her throat, snapping the rest of the students out of their stupor before gesturing for Jeanne to go back to her seat.

For some reason, she didn't comment on her performance like she did with the rest of us.

Strange.

Another crystal was brought not long after. The rest of the scores after that were nothing much, all of them being less than 100. Of course, nobody expected anything amazing after my performance. By the time they were finished, we had used twenty minutes of the lesson, leaving us with an hour and ten minutes. I stretched my left arm across the table and rested my chin on the palm of my right, listening to the Professor as she began her lecture on magic. I already know the basics but it doesn't hurt to listen anyway.

As she began to explain about the existence of the Magic Core, I felt an elbow lightly hit my side before I turned to Svanhild, who had a questioning look on her face. "You've already began to use magic?" she asked. I didn't see any harm in sating her curiosity so I nodded in response. "For how long? Who taught you? What school of magic?"

"In that order: three years, self-taught." to answer her last question, I raised my finger and began to draw a single rune.

"Runes." she blinked, and I was happy to confirm it with a nod. "When did you have time to learn magic?"

"You would be surprised at what kind of books you can find in the Institute library."

She stared at me for a bit longer before turning back to face the front. I also faced the front of the classroom and paid rapt attention to my first lecture on magic.

* * *

My first lesson on magic was a bit boring if I were to be honest. I had already started earlier compared to everyone else so I already knew most of the basics, and all we went through today was the absolute basics of our Magic Core and training methods.

Right now, I had a ten minute break before I go to Sword Training, my only personal choice. At least I'll be getting two lessons everyday on swordsmanship, and not balance it out with marksmanship. Svanhild had already gone her own way, most likely to her next lesson, while I had gone off to find Freed and Rion.

It didn't take long for me to find the two of them. Combat Training uses the training rooms for their sessions, which is also shared with Sword Training, and Physical Training is right next to it.

I caught him just as he left the training room, still in his outfit. Freed was wearing a simple white t-shirt with his name plastered on the front, a grey track suit bottom and a pair of black pump trainers. Rion had also entered the hallway wearing the same outfit.

"Freed! Rion!" I called out, gaining their attention. Freed's eyes widened slightly before switching to a look of...pity?

"Sieg..." Freed began, "When did you say you have Combat Training?"

I raised an eyebrow at the tone of his voice, the resignation to be exact. "It's my last session. Is there a point to this question?"

Freed didn't answer. He just placed a hand on my shoulder and shook his head before dragging himself away to the changing rooms, leaving me to deal with a cold feeling forming in the pit of my stomach.

"He refuses to elaborate any further." Rion added with a frown.

What happened to him?

* * *

"Alright Students, form a line against the wall!"

We all did as we were told and lined up against the wall. There was a total of thirty or so students standing against the wall, all wearing the same outfits consisting of a white t-shirt with our names plastered on the front, grey track suit bottoms and a pair of black pump trainers. The training facility was pure white no matter where you were to look; just a large white room with a viewing area located near the top.

Our instructor was a middle-aged man with black hair slicked back, and wearing black vestments. All in all, he looked like a mob boss. Just give him a black fedora, a cigar and a black long coat and boom: we have ourselves an Al Capone after his Holy Church update.

"My name is Ewald Cristaldi and I shall be your sword instructor for the duration of this year. I would like to first state that this will not be easy." He fixed us with a slight glare to emphasise this point, "You are all training to become protectors of humanity against dark forces that prowl this world. As such, the Devils will not be your only enemies; there will be many more such as the Vampires, Youkai, Fallen Angels and many more. It is not an exaggeration when I say that many of you will die. Knowing this, will you continue to persist?"

The students looked a bit uneasy at this point but stayed regardless, earning a nod of approval from Ewald.

"Very good. Then I shall teach you how to combat evil with the sword." He picked up one of the wooden swords that laid on the ground before continuing his speech, "During my sessions, the sword shall be your main focus. I shall hammer everything I know into the lot of you. It will be harsh, it will be painful and it will be tiring, but it is what you signed up for. As such, I do not want to see complaints of my teaching methods, is that understood?" he fixed us with another glare, earning multiple nods.

"Very good. Now, all of you come forward and pick up a sword."

All the students moved towards the pile of wooden swords and took their own weapon. It was a bit too light if I were to be honest, which makes sense if we're going to be using Light swords. Now that I think about it, are Light swords heavy? For that matter, does Light even weigh anything?

Questions for later.

"Does everyone have a weapon?" he received a chorus of nods before continuing, "Good. Now, I'm going to show all of you a couple of stances with the sword. I'll have you show the same stances and see what I'm working with. Choose any one of the stances you feel most comfortable in." He began to get into a couple of stances, holding the sword in either both hands or switching to a single hand.

I tried testing out a couple of the one-hand sword stances but none of them felt right to me. Is it because the sword were too light? No, that's not it. It feels more like I'm not balancing properly. Looking around, I could see that most of my fellow students had already chosen their stance with only a small handful still deciding on which stance is right for them.

"Warrior Siegfried, is there a problem?" I turned around, only to meet the face of Ewald Cristaldi inches away from my own. He had a stern look but there was also some curiosity towards my plight mixed in there.

"Just one." I replied, looking down at my sword before returning to him, "None of the stances you've shown feel right to me. It's as if there isn't a-"

"Proper balance?" He cut in with a raised eyebrow with... amusement?

"Y-yes sir." I confirmed. How did he know? Ewald just went back to the sword pile and picked up another weapon before throwing it at me. I caught it with my left hand and instantly saw the change. So that was the problem then? The reason for me not having a proper balance is because-

"A natural dual-sword wielder." Ewald read my thoughts with a nod, "You aren't the first student I've had who turned out to be a dual-wielder. He had the same problem as you just now when he was still in training." At this point, his face took on a resigned expression. "Unfortunately, I am not a dual wielder as I only use one sword, thus you will have to ask him to teach you in your own time."

"What's his name?" I asked. It was simple curiosity on my part, curiosity that Ewald was happy to sate.

"Yaegaki Masaomi, a full-time Exorcist currently stationed in Vatican City."

Yaegaki Masaomi? As in, the Exorcist who falls in love with Cleria Belial? If he isn't in Japan at the moment, then that means he hasn't met Cleria. That also means that I don't have a lot of time before he's killed to uphold the status quota between the Factions.

I had better find him as soon as I can but until then, I should be focusing on the _now_ rather than the _later_.

I got into a couple of stances with a sword in each hand, looking for the right one before I put one sword down. I can practice dual wielding in my time; right now, I should use this session to focus on wielding a single sword instead. I chose the most comfortable stance I could find, even if I didn't like it, and began to work on it. My arms were positioned in front of me as I held my sword using both hands. A simple stance but the most comfortable one I could find at the moment.

Ewald came over to check our stances one by one, correcting them as he went along by smacking them into place with his sword. When he came over to me, he looked me up and down before smacking my legs. "Widen your legs, otherwise your balance will be disrupted." he ordered. I complied immediately as I widened my legs; it's best not to anger the man who was smacking you with a wooden sword.

Then he smacked my hands, eliciting a hiss from me as my sword nearly fell out of my hands. "Your grip is weak. Tighten it or you will lose your weapon." Once again, I followed his order and tightened my grip, ensuring that my sword wouldn't fly out my hands again. He looked me over one more time before looking satisfied and moving to his next victim.

What a demanding man.

* * *

I left the training room with a groan, massaging all the sore areas on my body. I didn't bother changing my outfit since I was going to have Combat Training next. For the rest of the session, we had our stances constantly corrected until we reached a satisfactory level in Ewald's eyes. By the time we were finished, our bodies had been riddled with injuries. Even after we left the training room as a large heap of pain and misery, Ewald looked at us with a smile that only promised more when we came back.

This entire lesson was just an introduction to sword training, thus it was just going over the basic stances and such. Seeing as how we're all beginners, we made a lot of mistakes, and Ewald was far too happy to correct our stances.

I met up with Freed quickly, seeing as how Marksmanship and Sword Training were located near each other. He looked quite happy when he left the training grounds, the complete opposite of myself who couldn't walk without aggravating my wounds.

"Where's Rion?" I groaned once I made it to where Freed was stood.

"He's still inside the changing rooms. He should be coming out soon." Freed replied before frowning at the sight of my pathetic self. "What happened to you?"

"Sword training. I'm telling you, that man is a sadist." I replied with a grunt. My answer seemed to set off something strange in Freed as he actually snorted.

"You haven't seen nothing yet."

_Hmm?_

Before I could ask him to elaborate further, we were interrupted by the sound of footsteps coming out way. Rion had finished changing and left the changing room looking like a corpse.

"Umm... Rion? Care to explain what hap-" Freed suddenly placed his hand on my shoulder, forcing me to turn around and face him.

"We don't talk about it." He commented, no. He ordered. And with that, he began to walk away with Rion Room in tow and myself following him, asking him what he meant.

During the rest of our ten minute break, Freed refused to elaborate on his words no matter how much I begged him.

As for Rion, he was unresponsive for the entirety of our break.

The cold feeling came back with a greater intensity.

We talked for a bit before the bell rang again, signalling for us to go to our next class. After waving Freed and Rion off, I made my way to the training grounds, which is located right next to the training rooms.

The training ground is basically the same thing but outside, where it focuses more on the physical aspect of training. When I got there, my instructor was already waiting for us. He was a young aged man with black hair and matching eyes. He was just doing his stretches while waiting for the rest of the class to arrive. He looks like a calm man, I think that this is a nice change of pace compared to Ewald.

"Alright everyone, it's time for Physical Training!" our instructor roared. No, seriously, he actually roared it out at the top of his voice. Who the hell said that he looked like a quiet guy? "My name is Lorenzo D'Aiello! You can call me Instructor D'Aiello or just Mr D'Aiello! Before you ask, yes! My sister is in charge of Magic Theory! Finally, I'm going to be your Phys Ed instructor for the year!" he pumped his fist in the air and, I shit you not, proceeded to get into a Power Ranger pose while screaming at the top of his voice, "IT'S TIME TO GET FIT!"

You can't make this stuff up.

"Yeah!" A small cheer could be heard at the back of the room, followed by "Shut up Nero", a smack across the back of the head and a cry of indignation.

"Let's begin! To start off, I want everyone to stretch your muscles! After that, you'll run around the grounds with me at the lead! Come on, let's go!" We spent the first five to ten minutes stretching our bodies before Mr D'Aiello began to run, leaving us all behind. We chased after him and kept at a steady pace, not wanting to use up all of our stamina too early. I was running somewhere near the back, conserving as much stamina as I could. It's times like these that I'm thankful for having built up my stamina at a young age.

Early planning paves the way to success after all.

We ran for about ten minutes before Instructor D'Aiello decided to kick it up a notch. He increased his speed and looked back to see some of us struggling. I was doing relatively okay and so were a couple other boys, but the rest were beginning to slow down already. I made sure to keep up with Mr D'Aiello at a steady pace, not wanting to waste all of my stamina this early into the lesson.

"Alright everyone, that's enough!"

All the students were happy to oblige as they collapsed on the ground, out of breath. Lorenzo just shook his head in disappointment but there was a glimmer of approval for the boys who weren't out of breath. "You get a two minute break before we move on!" he announced, earning a couple of groans from the downed students. In the end, they complied to his words and used the two minutes to gather their breath back.

"And now, we're going to do a hundred push-ups! LET'S GO!"

A chorus of groans could be heard from the training grounds for the duration of the session.

* * *

"Finally, food!" I cried out as I entered the cafeteria. After an entire day of being smacked by a middle-aged man with a stick, followed by being chased by an over-excited PE teacher, I was left a groaning, crying and hungry mess. As soon as Sword Training was over, I ran for the cafeteria at full speed.

When you have over a hundred siblings feeling tired and hungry after a training session, you can bet your youngest child that they'll have taken all the good stuff. Thus you need to get there before them and take all the good stuff first.

And if I pushed down a couple of my fellow classmates? Well, I made sure to do it in areas where the camera wasn't looking.

All's fair in a game of war, love and lunch.

Luckily, I managed to get to the cafeteria early so I was given a choice of the best lunch meals they had. I was starving after Physical Training so I just took as much I could, creating a small stack of food. I got some strange looks from a couple of the older students but did my best to ignore them.

"Excuse me?". I turned my head to the right to see a nervous Jeanne with a tray in her hands. All around us, there were students standing around awkwardly, having missed their chance to invite Jeanne to their tables. "Is it okay if I sit here?"

I looked around again, noting the various faces who were desperately shaking their heads, before looking back to Jeanne with a smile of my own.

"Go ahead."

Heh, I could hear the groans of disappointment. It seems that even in another world, I still love messing with people.

Jeanne took her place on my right and placed her tray on the table with a tired sigh. She took one look at my lunch and raised her eyebrows in surprise, no doubt at the amount of food I had procured.

"What? I'm hungry." I defended with a small frown.

"Sieg? Who's this?" I turned to the new voice to see Freed and Rion standing to my left, the black-haired boy looking curious while the blue-haired boy was staring at my tray with rapt attention, his eyes concealing a hungry desire to-wait a minute.

"I'm not sharing. Don't even think that I'll give you a single piece of my lunch." I growled at the boy. I got myself ready to fight for my lunch when his gaze didn't leave my tray.

"Sieg." Damn it Freed! I was about to have my first shounen moment!

"Freed, Rion. Meet Jeanne." I introduced them before turning back to the now amused Jeanne, "Jeanne, meet Freed and Rion."

"Jeanne, as in the Holy Maiden Jeanne?" Freed asked. Jeanne's smile slipped a bit but she held it together nicely. Ten years old and she's already perfected her mask. I don't know if I should pity her or be proud of her.

"Not that Jeanne, the Jeanne who makes a living as a rapper. Of course it's that Jeanne." I earned a frown from Freed and a very unmaiden-like snort from said maiden herself. I turned to Jeanne, watching with open interest at how she managed to compose herself instantly.

It's kind of sad how she manages to create such a perfect mask at her age.

"Well, it's nice to meet you." Rion said as he sat down, followed by Freed. Jeanne looked happy at the way things played out, for reasons I don't think I'll ever know, Freed was keeping some questions to himself and Rion was-

"Hey Rion, we going to have a problem?" I asked when I noticed the small glances he sent my, or rather, my tray's way.

_**Ten minutes later...**_

"And that's why Sieg isn't allowed to drink coffee anymore." Freed finished his story. Jeanne couldn't stop laughing throughout the entire duration while I was trying to murder Freed with my glare. "Oh stop glaring at me like that. You know perfectly well that it was your fault."

"Honestly, it's not like I had _meant_ to send Wren to the Medical Bay." I admitted shamelessly with a small scowl. "Besides, you're making it out to seem worse than it really was."

"You didn't just send Wren to the Medical Bay, you sent over twelve members of faculty there. _Twelve_ _members_, _Sieg_."

"They had to call in two _high-ranking_ exorcists to restrain you, and even they came out with a broken arm and black eye." Rion added helpfully.

"Wren didn't even do anything, he was just standing next to you when you lost control."

"And I'm pretty sure you trautamised-"

"Traumatised." Freed corrected.

"Traumatised him."

..."Alright, so _maybe_ it was my fault."

"You! You guys!" Jeanne was wheezing at this point, "You guys are the best!" I gave her a deadpan stare only to watch as her laughing bout increased in intensity.

The rest of our break went well after that. We talked some more and after finishing our food, walked around the training facility aimlessly.

When the bell rang, we had gone our separate ways to our last session. Jeanne and I both had Combat Training but just as we left, I swear I heard Freed and Rion mutter a prayer for our health.

* * *

"Alright everyone, I have some news for all of you." a member of the faculty addressed us during one of our training sessions. Our instructor hadn't shown up today for some reason; it was only one of the Institute workers and a female Exorcist.

Griselda Quarta watched over us like a hawk, nothing could escape her sight. When Griselda's gaze washed over me, I felt like I was being stalked by a predator, causing me to squirm in my place. Is this what Svanhild felt like?

"Your instructor, Father Michael, has been put back in the active forces, meaning that he won't be able to come in every day anymore. Fortunately, they have decided to send another instructor to teach you." he suddenly directed his gaze towards all of us. There was a strange sense of...pity held in it?

"She's a high-ranking member of the Church; you're all quite lucky that she took the time to come here. She'll be your instructor for the next couple of years while switching with Father Michael from time to time." He directed our attention to the woman standing next to him.

As he began to leave, he turned around and gave us a final message.

"Good luck, you're going to need it."

This time, I didn't mistaken the pity he held in his eyes. The look he gave us reminded me of the time when I was told my dog went to the butterfly farm and I would never get to see him again.

As the faculty member left, there were a couple of murmurs heard around the room. It looks like I'm not the only one who was feeling uneasy. From the way Griselda's eyes just narrowed, they have the right idea to be feeling uneasy.

In my case, uneasy doesn't even come close to describe what I was feeling at the moment.

* * *

_"Freed! Rion!" I called out, gaining their attention. Freed's eyes widened slightly before switching to a look of...pity?_

_"Sieg..." Freed began, "When did you say you have Combat Training?"_

* * *

_"Where's Rion?" I groaned once I made it to where Freed was stood._

_"He's still inside the changing rooms. He should be coming out soon." Freed replied before frowning at the sight of my pathetic self. "What happened to you?"_

_"Sword training. I'm telling you, that man is a sadist." I replied with a grunt. My answer seemed to set off something strange in Freed as he actually snorted. _

_"You haven't seen nothing yet."_

Hmm?

* * *

_"Umm... Rion? Care to explain what hap-" Freed suddenly placed his hand on my shoulder, forcing me to face him._

_"We don't talk about it." _

* * *

_This... This is what happened to Freed and Rion._

"It's nice to meet all of you. My name is Griselda Quarta and I will be your Combat Instructor for the next four years." Griselda greeted with a smile. It was such a kind smile that I was reminded of my mother from my previous life. The sheer amount of warmth it held was beginning to bring old, pleasant memories back to the surface.

It's a shame that her smile greatly contrasted with her next act when she picked up two wooden swords.

"Let's all get along with each other, alright?"

_Griselda Quarta is what happened to Freed and Rion._

* * *

I don't care what anyone says, Griselda Quarta is _not_ a nun; she is a monster in human skin.

Just as she promised back when I first met her as a baby, she has decided to include herself in the exorcist training program whenever she had the time. She will be showing up four times a week, only for a couple of hours before leaving again. In that time, she would put us through what could only be described as torture.

In fact, I'm quite certain that it really was torture at one point. Last time I checked, chaining us up and dragging us around the courtyard does not focus on "building endurance". It was just a slaughter fest where every trainee was thrown all over the training room-wait, no, that's literally what happened during today's session.

If I knew what my actions would cause when I first met her, I would have choked myself to sleep.

Damn that Butterfly Effect! Damn it to hell!

All the students left the training room a whimpering mess, Jeanne and I included. There were no words exchanged, no usual friendly banter after a session or arguments breaking out. Just a cold, quiet silence with everyone having resigned to their fates.

I don't know who decided it was a good idea to have that _she-devil_ near children but when I met them, I'm going to make sure to land a solid punch on them.

* * *

_**Somewhere in the main Vatican headquarters...**_

"What's wrong Cardinal Strada? You seem out of it today."

"I don't know... I feel the strangest sense of amusement for some reason."

* * *

Hmm? I feel like I just set myself an impossible target.

Ah well.

* * *

~**_Omake__ \- The Changing Rooms_**~

The changing rooms were quiet, far too quiet compared to when the students had first arrived. Not a word was spoken between the students, nor could a breath be heard. The only sound that resounded throughout the changing rooms was the shuffling of the students as they changed back into their school outfits.

"So..." one of the students finally spoke up, breaking the heavy silence. His voice wavered for a moment, memories of _Her_ resurfacing, but he steeled himself and carried on. "Griselda Quarta, huh?"

As the name left his lips, a shudder travelled through every single student at the same time.

"Yeah." the student changing next to him answered in a resigned tone. The silence returned to the changing rooms once more before another student spoke up. His voice was heavy, _far_ too heavy for a child of his age.

"And we're supposed to have her for the next four years." he muttered. It was no more of a question than it was a statement, though there was hope in his voice. An innocent hope that someone would refute his claim and calm the raging storm in his heart.

Unfortunately, he was given the one answer he didn't want to hear from the other side of the changing room.

"Yeah." Silence filled the changing rooms once more before one of the students suddenly burst into tears.

"_I... I don't want to be an Exorcist anymore!_" Nobody made a move to console him. They were told at the beginning that being an Exorcist wouldn't be easy; they knew what they were getting themselves into when they were admitted into the Exorcist Training Program. They were going to be trained to combat the Devilkind, the denizens of the Underworld and mankind's biggest enemy.

They just didn't think that they would meet a Devil so soon.

"_Yeah_." a chorus of solemn voices resounded throughout the changing room.

* * *

**And that's the end of Chapter 3.**

**Did you guys like the omake? I felt like it might be a bit early to write one but I already had the idea in my head, so I thought why not?**

**Anyways, this chapter was mainly an information dump. This is because I had decided to focus on Siegfried's school days for this chapter as well as using it to introduce a couple of new characters.**

**Jeanne has been introduced! I think that both she and Freed are going to be the hardest characters to write since we know close to nothing about them personally. We don't really know much about Jeanne before she joined the Hero Faction, and Freed was hopped up on whatever the hell he was taking right ****until the very end.**

**And yes, Nero Raimondi is in his Physical Training class. I'll make sure to properly include him after on but since this is just the first day, there's no need for Siegfried to go out of his way to talk to him.**

**I had decided on the Exorcist Training Program to be implemented as a school because I thought it would be more interesting. Besides, it hasn't been stated that there _isn't_ a school for training exorcists. Right?**

**Lint, Riel and Xenovia aren't old enough to be enrolled yet but you'll be seeing the three of them begin their training in the later chapters.**

**Irina won't be a student at the school since she's being trained in England. She'll be making her appearance after Siegfried finishes his training here, so in four years. From what I remember in one of the DxD short stories, Irina finished her training at the age of 14. Thus, that's the graduation age that I've decided on for this story as well.**

**As for Asia, she isn't going to enrol since she isn't really training to be an Exorcist; she's currently on Holy Priestess duties which has nothing to do with slaying Devils.**

**And now to respond to the reviews:**

**[ALEX99999] I've already stated that Siegfried will not have a Sacred Gear. Maybe, _just maybe_, I might have A****zazel give him one of his artificial SG's but the chance of that happening is pretty small. You don't really need a Sacred Gear to be powerful anyways. Take Vasco Strada as a prime example.**

**[DG2] Duly noted, I'll make sure not to repeat it again. Thanks for the advice.**

**[Sunfang193] Edelweiss? That isn't a bad idea to be honest; ****I'm not making any promises but ****I'll give it some thought.**

**[TehStorm] Don't worry, with the plan I have for Siegfried, he'll be more than a match for whatever hax level opponents show up. As for the 5 Demon Swords, well, I suppose you'll have to wait and see, won't you?**

**[Doortolight47] The DXD Brynhildr isn't the original Brynhildr, it's just a title thats passed onto the strongest Valkyrie alive. Thus, we shouldn't be seeing any yandere tendencies from her. In fact, she would probably jump at the prospect of having a boyfriend, seeing as how she's just as bitter as Rossweisse in regards to finding a boyfriend, even if she doesn't show it.**

**[Kensei-1085] I like to think that the Church isn't filled with idiots who would send two kids with shiny swords into Devil Territory to fight a veteran of the Great War. You have to remember that the Three Factions had to be careful in not kick starting the Great War again. What do you think would happen if they sent an army of exorcists into Devil territory? Hell, what would happen if you sent an army anywhere? It would be seen as an act of war, especially if they're sent into the only place on earth that's governed by the younger siblings of two of the Underworld's leaders.**

**... But yeah, it was stupid to not send a superior to watch over them. Hopefully, that will be changed in this story but you'll just have to sit tight and wait.**

**[Dxhologram] That's right. I always hear about how humanity is the weakest race but unlike the rest of the supernatural, they have an infinite amount of potential. It's one of the reasons why I wanted to write a human character in the first place. That's why Siegfried will remain human throughout the story, so you don't need to worry about him being reincarnated into another race or anything.**

**[fruitspunchsamurai-987] Right? I also don't think that Siegfried should wield Gae Bolg but some of the reviews said otherwise. To begin with, the only connection I wanted him to have with Cu Chulainn is with the Runes. Maybe I'll include a Cu Chulainn descendent? That would be a better idea in my opinion. We'll have to see.**

**[O] DXD Sigurd actually did kill Fafnir and ate his _entire_ heart. I'm pretty sure that Odin had just revived Fafnir, though it doesn't tell you how he did it or how long he waited until doing so. Fafnir is also going to be an important character later on in the canon plot so I can't really have him killed again, and I don't think that Odin can just spam revive spells on dragons everywhere. That stuff takes time, you know?**** That's why Siegfried won't be eating his heart.**


	5. Our First Meeting Could Have Gone Better

**Disclaimer: I do not own Highschool DxD or any of the references found in this story, nor am I making any profit from this story. All original Highschool DxD characters and references belong to their rightful owners, I just own the original characters and concepts that I have created myself.**

* * *

It's been three months since I have been inducted into the Exorcist Training Program.

During that time, I've all but thrown myself into my studies. I spend most of my personal time reading books on magic, history, weapons, etc. You just have to name it and I've probably either begun or finished reading it. Whatever time I have left after that is used to train myself with each day revolving between magic and physical training.

However, I've reached an impasse in regards to magic training. Why? Simply because I have nowhere to practice with my more... destructive spells. I've been limited to small-scale spells that don't require much Mana to cast but in doing so, the rate at which my Mana Core expands has slowed down far too much for my liking.

I need to find a place where I don't have to worry about damage control. Until then, I've decided to focus on my magic control.

When casting a spell, the magic circle used to direct the spell is weaved from the users own Mana. There isn't a fixed amount of Mana required when weaving the magic circle so I usually just use a random amount of Mana to create it.

The problem with that is that my Mana tends to run out rather quickly whenever I use this method of casting spells due to my poor Mana control. If I were able to supply the Mana and weave my magic circles with the smallest amount of Mana necessary, I'll be able to spam magic spells without having to worry about Mana deficiency for a while.

Just imagine it. An unlimited number of magic circles hovering in the sky as they spew out death, destruction and ruin all over my enemies. Their cries of pain and howls of anguish dying out as I smother the remaining embers of their lives.

It's enough to make a grown man cry.

In more ways than one.

Moving on from the violent imagery. Until I reach a suitable level of magic control, I'll be limited to a handful of magic circles. I'll have to be training to control my Mana output a lot now since my Magic Core will only continue to grow as I keep practising, making it harder to control my Mana.

Speaking of magic, Svanhild has finally decided to join me in the library.

She began to learn magic from the tomes that the Institute owns a couple of days after we were inducted into the training program. She's been going through all the tomes at a quick pace, absorbing all the information they hold, unlike myself who decided to mainly focus on Rune magic. With the rate at which she's finishing all the books, as well as the courses she chose to take, I have no doubt that she's going to become a powerful magician in the future.

But that's in the future. Right now, my Magic Core dwarfs her own in sheer size due to my 3-year head start, and I have a higher degree of control than her. 9 times out of ten, I will win all of our magic duels. The remaining 1 is only due to pity but she doesn't need to know that.

I have, however, begun to look into different schools of magic. Nothing to big, only just taking bits and pieces that I can enhance using Rune magic. As for Rune magic, I've reached a point where I can't learn from the books anymore. One can only go so far without any help after all. If I'm going to want to progress any further, I'm need someone well versed in Rune magic to help me.

But I don't have anyone like that so until then, it's just going to be magic control training.

And so, I find myself sitting on the floor of my bedroom with a glass crystal laid out in front of me.

After explaining the same thing to Professor D'Aiello, she gave me a couple of crystals and told me to practice with these. These glass crystals are prototypes of the one we used during the first magic theory session to measure the level of magic power, except they don't display the level of Mana. All these do is absorb Mana, making them useful as backup supplies. However, if one were to fill it with too much Mana, it would end up exploding and sending glass shards all over the place.

Why she would give this to a child, I have no idea, but I applaud her decision-making skills nonetheless.

Anyways, my task is to fill them up with Mana to the absolute limit without allowing them to explode. For every ten glass crystals that explodes, I have to owe her a favour.

All I need to do is just supply a little bit of Mana and...

Ooh! It's glowing! This is a lot more easier than I-

***BOOM***

Who said that this is easy!? Come out and fight me right now!

* * *

"Asia, can you get off of me now?"

"Nope."

A sigh.

"_Asia_."

"Nope!"

Another sigh.

Here I am, lying on the ground with an adorable, yet selfish, little sister figure using me as a glorified pillow. It's not like I have any problems with it but my body has become numb at this point.

Asia, meanwhile, had a megawatt smile on her face as she kicked her legs in the air, enjoying her makeshift throne as she hums to herself.

Rion and Riel are spending Sunday together in Vatican city. It's a thing that they've had for as long as anyone can remember, kind of like an anniversary I suppose?

Freed and Lint couldn't come today because they're being kept busy by the health checkups. It's no small secret that artificial humans are not as..._functional_ as normal humans are; the best example would be the very first artificial human who died.

The Institute scientists are checking up on them to see if their bodies show any signs of breaking down and whatnot, but the entire process lasts the whole day due to multiple testing phases.

It's one of the days that none of the descendants look forward to; partly because it takes up our whole day but mainly because nobody wants to be told that they don't have long to live. Luckily, there are barely any cases where out bodies' system begin to fail so we're mostly in the clear.

And so, here I am, visiting Asia on my own. She was a little saddened when I gave her the news but I'm happy knowing that she's feeling better.

Now. How do I get her off of me?

I could just throw her off but that would be bad for my heart and conscious, and I'm sure that Asia knows that as well.

Tch. This girl is unfair.

"May I know _why_ you don't want to get off me?" I tried asking.

She lifted her head from my chest and looked me in the eye with such a happy smile, I felt my heart crack for a moment, "You're comfy, that's all the reason I need." she replied before dropping her head once again, as if the matter was settled.

Dammit! My little sister can't be this cute!

I heard the doors behind us suddenly open as Asia lifted her head. She face morphed from surprise, recognition and finally happiness. "Ah!" Asia suddenly exclaimed as she lifted her head, eyes focusing behind me. I tried turning my head but gave up after two seconds of failure, letting my head fall back on the grass with a soft thud. "Father Strada! You're back!"

Asia finally got off my body, giving me back the freedom I so much enjoy. I managed to turn my head enough to make out the familiar giant standing behind me and greeted him with a smile.

The Church's Device of Violence. The Violence of Heaven. The Evil Killer. The man who fought Kokabiel off during the Second World War. The man considered to be at the apex of Humanity.

I watched as the same man was being reduced to a piece of putty in the face of Asia's babbling.

"Asia, how have you been doing? Not getting into trouble, I hope?" Vasco asked

Asia pouted at the implication, "Of course I haven't! What do you take me for?"

"A little spitfire, that's what!" Vasco shot back with a laugh, rubbing Asia's head. Asia was hugging his leg as she enjoyed the head patting session. If she had a tail, it would probably be kicking up a dust storm right now.

"Sup Gramps, how's it shaking?" I greeted from where I was.

The Violence of Heaven perked up at the nickname, "I'm doing fine, thank you. It's been quite some time since I was given a break, so I've been in a good mood since." he replied with a cheery note to his voice. During our first meeting, I called him Gramps and it's stuck ever since. He seems to like it whenever I call him that so there are no problems whatsoever.

Well, the only problems are the old farts who demand that I show respect to my betters.

Psh.

"How is everyone else doing? Is there anything I should know? Come now, you know you can tell your Gramps anything."

I waved off his concerns with a hand gesture, "Nah, they're all fine. Freed and Lint are just taking their tests today, and Rion and Riel are spending the day together in the city. I was the only one who could make it, so I guess it's just going to be the three of us then."

"Well actually..." Hmm?

Before I could ask him to elaborate, a familiar figure standing behind Vasco decided to make themselves known.

"Morning, Sieg!" Jeanne waved with a grin.

"Jeanne? What are you doing here?"

"What do you think? I'm here to visit Asia of course, why else would I be here?" she replied, making a beeline for the girl in question. Asia looked like she just found out Christmas came early; she could probably power the entirety of Vatican city with the amount of energy generated by her smile. It was like staring directly at a sun.

Praise the Sun!

"Jeanne!" she all but launched herself towards the little maiden. She caught her but stumbled a little bit, trying to regain her balance but failing and-oh shit, they're coming this way.

Come on, body of mine! Move out of the way! Remember why I trained you for the last ten years!

_'But I don't wanna...'_

Now now, body!

In the end, my body refused to listen to me and the two girls collapsed on me in a glorious pile of limbs. I groaned in pain as Jeanne and Asia began to giggle, seemingly forgetting about me.

_**5 minutes later...**_

"Wait a minute, you're telling me that Gramps", I pointed at the man in question, "has taken you on as his apprentice?"

"Yep." Jeanne nodded.

"And you can use...what was it called, Holy Power?"

"That's right", to illustrate her point, she demonstrated her Holy Power as her fist began to shine brightly, "I unlocked it yesterday!"

"And you're telling me this because..."

"We are telling you this because", Vasco decided to cut in, "it's been decided that you shall also be placed into an apprenticeship."

What?

"When... When did this happen?" I couldn't help but ask. I'm all up for it but I don't remember doing anything to get this sort of treatment.

Vasco looked a bit surprised at my lack of knowledge, "Is it really that strange? In the three months you've spent training as an exorcist trainee, coupled with early observations, you've proven yourself to be nothing short of a prodigy. It would be a waste if we didn't capitalise on this chance as soon as possible." He took on an amused expression, "Besides, you were recommended by Ewald Cristaldi himself. They would surely agree with one of the top exorcists, don't you think?"

...Ah.

It's starting to make sense now. I remember Ewald told me that I should try and talk with Masaomi, a dual-wielder, and persuade him to teach me. The problem was that I had no way to get him to teach me because he's a high-ranking exorcist, and the higher-ups would rather he go out on missions rather than stay behind and teach a child.

But I didn't think that Ewald would reach out to him for me. And what's this about me being a prodigy? I don't remember having been branded with such a title, nor have I done anything to warrant such a title.

"So, who will I be placed under?" I finally asked. The doors suddenly burst open to reveal...nothing?

Vasco just smiled as he focused his view behind me, "Why don't you ask him yourself?" he turned around to face...nobody. I frowned; is this a prank?

"Uhh, Gramps? There's nobody-"

"So is this the brat I'm meant to teach?" a new voice suddenly spoke up from behind me. I jumped forward in an instant, eyes widened with shock as I stared down the intruder.

A Yankee. That was the best way to describe the man stood before me. A young man with a nasty-looking face, wearing a modified exorcist uniform with baggy pants and an open collar, and his hair was styled into a pompadour.

Is... Is this what I think it is? A bona-fide Japanese Yankee? In Vatican city?

What the fuck?

Wait a minute. How did hell did he get behind me!? The only people here are Jeanne, Vasco, Asia and myself, and there's only one entrance to the gardens. The door had opened but nobody actually entered. There are no signs of magic having been used, otherwise I would have been able to sense the Mana in the air.

"What's wrong, Sieg? You look like you just saw a ghost. Do you know this guy?" Jeanne asked, a worried expression on her face. Why is nobody else reacting to how he just appeared without any prior notice!?

"Masaomi. How many times must I tell you that you were not trained to scare children?" Vasco admonished the now-named Masaomi.

"Uh, sorry sir." he had the decency to look embarrassed. He cleared his throat before staring me down with a calculative gaze. He looked me over for a couple of seconds before he scoffed, leaving me feeling a little bit offended. "So this is the kid you want me to teach after all? Sir, he's just a pipsqueak. He couldn't possibly keep up with my level of training."

Oh?

Oh ho! So that's how you want to play, is it?

"What, so this is the man who's meant to teach me?", I shook my head with disappointment, "Gramps, he's just a Yankee. What can he teach me besides styling my hair to look like a shrivelled-up raisin?"

Jeanne snorted before looking away, trying her hardest not to laugh. Vasco frowned, not expecting things to go south so fast, while Asia looked confused, silently mouthing the term "Yankee" to herself.

Masaomi's nonchalant expression was wiped in an instant, replaced by a furious glare, "Oh? You got something you wanna say to my face, brat?"

"I would rather not. Brush your teeth first and I'll think about it." I snorted, not even deigning him with a look. Jeanne had to turn around at this point to recollect herself while Vasco looked a bit disappointed at how our first meeting with each other was playing out. Asia just looked like she had an idea and quickly ran towards her bag.

"Before the two of you decide to turn the garden into a battlefield, you should probably wait until _after_ I explain the reason behind this decision." Vasco interjected, causing Masaomi to back down.

"I don't know what kind of reasoning is behind all of this but there's no way this kid can keep up with my training."

"You'd be surprised.", Vasco mused, "Young Siegfried here is known to be a training maniac at the Institute he was raised in, as well as the training program. Some of the other children tried to emulate his training regimen and failed on the first day, while Siegfried has been using it since he was nine-"

"Eight."

"Eight years old." Vasco finished without missing a beat. Masaomi looked a little interested at this point, regarding me a little differently before it went back to cold indifference.

"I can't very well expect much from a training regimen for a ten year old.", he gave me a look that I didn't like very much, "It can't be much if he-"

"Thirty push-ups and press-ups. Ten burpees, bodyweight squats and walking lunges, and a thirty second plank." I cut in a little harshly, "And that's just my morning routine excluding magic training. Want me to explain the rest?"

Masaomi was just staring at me, surprise evident on his face before it turned into a more calculative gaze. He moved forward and began to-

"Hey! What are you doing!?"

"Keep still, I'm just checking something." he muttered as he began to... lift my shirt?

A priest, putting his hands under a child's clothes.

...

Nooo! Someone save me! I don't want to lose my first time in the DxDverse to another guy!

"No!"

"Stop flailing about!"

"NO!"

Jeanne! Stop laughing, you failure of a maiden! What the hell kind of maiden are you if you just watch a young lamb of God get eaten by a dangerous wolf!?

"Sister Sophia! Save me!"

"I told you to calm down!"

Gramps! What this man is doing is undoubtedly an act of evil! Please stop avoiding eye contact and show me why they call you the Vatican's Evil Killer!

"There, I'm done." Masaomi finally stepped back, giving me time to activate all the Ehwaz runes enchantments on my body to increase running speed run, and ran to the other side of the garden and climb the tree, all in the span of two seconds. If anyone told me that magic was made to escape from child predators, I would never have believed them, yet here I am doing that exactly.

"I would have finished a lot earlier if you didn't struggle so much, you know?" Masaomi complained. Would have finished what exactly? _Would have fucking finished what exactly!?_

"A priest was just trying put his hands under my clothes and you ask me why I was struggling!? Have you seen the news lately!?"

"Wha-"

"So what do you think?" Vasco jumped in before the situation could escalate. Masaomi considered the question for a bit before releasing a resigned sigh.

"Alright, I'll take him, but only because he can probably handle it.", he groused as he turned my way, "Get down kid, I won't do anything to you."

"Oh please. Next, you'll be offering me a bag of candy, or a visit to your minivan."

"Why you little-"

"I found it!" Asia exclaimed out as she came running forward. Masaomi paused in his tracks as he turned around, only to blink when Asia handed him a toothbrush with a smile.

I'm so proud of you, Asia. Onii-chan will treat you to whatever you want today.

* * *

It's been two months since I began training with Masaomi and, based on how he enjoys beating me around, I can say with full confidence that our first meeting did not turn out well.

How was I meant to know that he was just checking my muscles? He could have just asked me.

And yes, I may have jumped the gun when I accused him of being a child predator.

But doesn't he clearly take our training sessions too far!? I saw him smiling, you know! He had a nasty-looking grin when he saw me suffer after two hours of nonstop training!

Like right now! He wants me to fight him blindfolded and 'sense' his intent to attack me! What kind of ridiculous training is this!? He's just out to get me now, I know it!

We haven't even begun sword training yet! This can't be called sword training in any way at all! This is child abuse, that's what this is! I want to see my lawyer!

"Alright, that's probably enough for today." he finally told me what I wanted to hear an hour ago. I fell backwards, removing the blindfold as I greedily sucked in as much air as I could.

"H-how... how long... did I last..."

"Six seconds longer than the usual." he replied curtly, opening a bottle and pouring the water all over my face.

Six seconds longer? So I managed to stay standing for a grand total of eleven seconds this time. Fuck yeah!

Eleven seconds may not seem long at all, but when you're blindfolded and forced to dodge wooden swords without any warnings, it means a lot more than you would think.

"I will admit", Masaomi began after a couple of minutes, "that I didn't have a lot of expectations for you when we started." He picked up the practice swords and threw them into the storage room. "Which is why I'm surprised that you've lasted over a month, especially with how... overbearing, I've been during that time."

"Overbearing is an understatement." I snorted.

"Yeah, I suppose it is." He gave a little smile at that before switching to a serious expression. "But I want to know why you seek strength. What drives you to get stronger so desperately? What would you even do with all that strength?"

Why I want to get stronger, huh?

I will admit that it first started off because I was afraid. I was downright terrified of what this world had to offer: Devils: Fallen Angels: Homicidal Humans: Dragons: Gods and more.

Then there's all the future events that will take place. Kokabiel's attempt to restart the Great War, the Old Satan Faction, the Hero Faction, Qlippoth and the others. With my birth in this world, there's a chance that the plot won't continue as it has thanks to the Butterfly Effect.

Faced with all of this, there's only one thing that can help me survive in this world.

Power.

Power that is absolute. Power that is peerless. I want to be so strong that nobody will look down on me, regarding me as trash.

After all, I'm alive too aren't I? I have a right to live just as much as everybody else does.

I don't want to be a simple snack for certain races, or a slave to Devils, or a test subject for Fallen Angels, or even a brainwashed asset to the Church.

I just want to have enough power so that I don't have to keep looking behind me shoulder, wondering when I'm going to get attacked. Enough power so that I don't have to constantly sleep with one eye open.

But, I'm not alone anymore, am I?

I have two adorable little sisters, a brother in all but blood who enjoys annoying me, a cousin who tries to monopolise Riel from me, a mother figure, a rival in Magic Theory and a friend who just so happens to be carrying the spirit of Jeanne D'Arc.

I can delude myself as much as I want but, as cringe-inducing as it is, there's only one reason as to why I want to get stronger.

"I just want to protect my family."

I could see Masaomi staring at me from the corner of my eye with a scrutinising gaze, as if trying to see through my answer. After a couple of seconds, I could hear his footsteps coming closer before offering me his hand. I raised an eyebrow at the gesture but took it anyways, pulling myself up with his help.

"Alright, I accept that answer." Masaomi grunted as he began to make his way out. "We don't need to work on physical exercise seeing as how you already train on your own, so we'll be starting sword practice next. Meet me here tomorrow at 18:00 sharp."

Really?

No more torture?

No more senseless violence?

The training facility was filled with the simultaneous sounds of laughter and crying for the next couple of minutes.

* * *

**A/N**

**Let me just start by apologising for the delay. It's just that my timetable has been pretty much filled up until April so I don't have a lot of time for myself anymore. I'm busy every day from 6 AM to 6 PM, and Sundays are my only break days. It will mean that chapters won't be updating as regularly as they should be, so sorry about that. This is just until I manage to make some more space in my plans.**

**EDIT: I just posted a Fairy Tail story on the website; don't hesitate in giving your opinions on it.**

**I don't really have anything to say so lets just move on to the reviews:**

**[TehStorm] - I was planning on the first seven or so chapters focusing on his time in the Vatican first before we move onto canon. These chapters will also be used to, hopefully, show character development rather than jump straight into canon and wondering where all the random power-ups and strange personalities came from.**

**[Journey to the End] - Yeah, that was the image I was going for with Jeanne. Hopefully, Siegfried will be able to help her. And don't even get me started on that Chinese idiot. Honestly, you give a hero descendent a shiny stick and he just goes batshit crazy with it.**

**[Ashborn2271] - You're right about that. Humans are basically cannon fodder for every single supernatural race, which is why Siegfried is going to be grabbing as much power as he can. As for Touki, I've already got a couple of ideas for different ways to branch off from it. Just watch, I'm sure that you're going to love it as much as I will.**

**[Gen2324] - Trust me buddy, you're going to enjoy what I have in stock for Jeanne.**

**[Rigald02] - I feel like it gets weird if I begin to mix the mythologies together. Besides, I'm pretty sure that Hades would mind a lot if an exorcist wanted to waddle through the only river in the underworld that would make you nigh-invincible.**

**[fruitspunchsamurai-987] - Believe me when I say that I'm going to explore the idea of Humanity's potential in greater detail. I feel like it's a waste that nobody seems to use this a lot in their stories. Devils don't seem to become any stronger after reaching a certain threshold, while Angels and Fallen Angels are pretty much content where they are. And don't even get me started on deities. Just imagine ****"a sword being able to reach the realm of gods". It paints a pretty picture, don't you think?**

**[Jacksonion Democracy] - I'm planning on keeping Siegfried as a human for the duration of the story but I have a couple of ideas to increase his lifespan if that's what you want. The main example being that Senjutsu can be used to prolong his lifespan.**

**[Boomman] - I won't be using the Fate Gram because I've already made plans for the DxD Gram. Sorry about that.**

**[Heron] - I am planning on an OC arc relating to Norse Mythology. I've already written up some basic ideas for it but it's still a work in progress. Hopefully it should be complete by the time it begins.**


	6. Top Ten Emotional Anime Moments

**Disclaimer: I do not own Highschool DxD or any of the references found in this story, nor am I making any profit from this story. All original Highschool DxD characters and references belong to their rightful owners, I just own the original characters and concepts that I have created myself.**

* * *

"Stop backing away whenever I advance!"

"Then stop trying to kill me!"

"You have two swords, don't just block everything!"

"If I don't, I'll die!"

"Why do you keep dodging!?"

"Why are you trying to kill me!?"

"Your right side is open!"

"Oh fuc-!" That was all I managed to say before the impact on my side sent me tumbling across the training ground. My body was feeling numb from the number of strikes my body had accumulated during my training session with Masaomi, who might I add just stood there with a satisfied smile.

He's been complaining about how hard his day was today. As far as I know, this "training session" is just stress relief for him.

"Come on now, don't tell me that's all you got?" Masaomi shook his head with a disappointed sigh. "Is this all the bloodline of Sigurd has to offer? My grandmother could do better and she's dead."

"S-shut it..." I managed to gasp out between my breaths. Masaomi just snorted as he made his way towards me.

"I suppose that's enough for today." he sighed as he gave me his hand, lifting me off the ground with ease. "You should probably go and get yourself fixed up, Lint looks like she's about to maul me." he spoke with an uneasy face. I took a look at the spectating area where Freed, Lint and Jeanne were watching and winced when I saw the intensity of the glare Lint was giving him.

Too bad he's the only person willing to teach me how to dual wield, otherwise I would have sicced her on him.

Freed just looked amused by the beat-down he just watched while Jeanne was distraught between helping me or laughing at me-she doesn't make a very good Holy Maiden in my humble opinion. Riel was trying to calm Lint down but there wasn't any real effort behind her action, almost as if she wanted to see how far Lint would go.

As for Rion, he didn't bother hiding anything as he proceeded to point and laugh at me.

Man, there must be something wrong with me if I consider these people family.

"You're getting better." he commented as we began to exit the training room. "Your form could use a little bit more work but your reaction time has greatly improved compared to our first lesson." His face suddenly took on a smug expression as he looked down at me. "Keep it up and you _might_ manage to scratch me next time."

"Do all high-class Exorcists feel good beating down trainees?" I shot back with a scowl. Masaomi just gave me another one of those annoying grins as he smacks my head, evoking a squawk of annoyance from me as I slapped his hand away.

"Respect your betters, brat."

Just as he promised, Masaomi had begun training me with swords whenever the both of us have free time. The only downside is that Masaomi is a straight up sadist; I swear he is, no matter who or how many people say otherwise.

However, if you're able to tolerate his _unique_ personality (which I highly doubt; I just have no choice), it becomes worth it because the man may be annoying but _boy_, is he a good sword teacher. In the year I've spent as his apprentice, my sword mastery has leapt by bounds. Whatever I find difficult, he knows exactly how to help me overcome and remedy it in the short span of ten minutes.

As much as I hate him, I have to admit that I wouldn't be where I am without him.

Now if only I could wipe that annoying smirk off his face, everything would have been perfect.

Freed, Lint and Jeanne were waiting for me outside the training room but before I could walk towards them, Lint had barrelled into me and scowled at Masaomi from my waist. "You've done enough, you can go now." she growled, I swear to all that is holy, she actually growled at him.

"Now now, Lint." Masaomi chastised, "That's no way to speak to your superiors. Who knows, you might even work for me in the future."

I honestly had to hold Lint back from mauling Masaomi for a second. Does he not know how close he is to death? Do you want to die before you even meet Cleria, you fool?

"T-thank you... for t-taking... c-care of S-Sieg..." she managed to get out between some dangerous intervals. Masaomi just smiled as he patted her head, ignorant of her growing anger.

"Well, thank you for being so polite-"

"I was _just_ being polite."

"Alright, time to go." I cut in as I began to direct Lint away before she could become a prime murder suspect. "I'll see you tomorrow." I added just before I left.

"I can't wait for out next session!" I shuddered at the disturbing amount of glee in his voice.

* * *

It's been one year since I have been inducted into the Exorcist Training Program. I still have another three years left before I finish my training, in which I'll be assigned a partner to work with. Each partner duo will then work in a group of six or eight with other sets of partners for the next couple of years after that.

Training has been just as you would expect it to be: hard. The role of an Exorcist is not an easy one, that's the first lesson they hammered into us and _boy_, did they hammer it into us.

I still feel the phantom pains whenever I look at Griselda.

Ugh.

Anyways, this last year has had me go through a lot. While it had been filled with the usual pain, misery and suffering, it would be wrong for me to say that it was _terrible_. There had been a lot of positive experiences and I got to meet a couple of new people.

Moving on, my training throughout the last year has done wonders for me, though I've had to make a couple of changes to it. I've cleared out my personal magic training since I'm just doing the same thing in Magical Studies, and I do the physical aspect during Physical Education.

People have begun to call me a "Training Maniac", much to Mr Rossi's glee. He's even decided to personally oversee my training. Daily intense workouts, followed by sparring sessions with Griselda and Masaomi after that, and I've managed to reach one of the goals I set for myself, namely the obtaining of Touki.

It was halfway in my first year when I was training with Mr Rossi that it just suddenly burst out of my body without any prior notice. It was a shock to the both of us when I tried to swat an annoying fly against the wall, only to smash said wall, and the fly, into mush. I was also treated to the sight of my female classmates in the changing rooms who were getting ready for their own Physical Education session.

I suppose it made sense that the girls changing room just had to be _there_ of all places, otherwise this wouldn't be much of a fan service anime. Needless to say, I was beat down ruthlessly. Is this another sample of the protagonist experience?

Aw fuck, does this make me a lolicon? I swear I'm not a lolicon; my little Fafnir didn't react in the slightest!

Anyways, after an unwanted hug from Mr Rossi, a corny speech, a couple of pictures being taken by Freed and Jeanne, and ten seconds of trying to stop myself from screaming in frustration, I had managed to deactivate it.

I've been training my Touki ever since but there's not much to train when all I'm doing is activating and working out in that state. It's a shame I can't just throw it at people like Ouryuu did in canon, unless someone gets me a Sacred Beast and seals it inside of me. Otherwise, I'll just forget about that for now.

Actually, now that I think about it, it was stated that the earth has natural ki running through it, and that some kid is able to utilise it thanks to some weird beast sealed inside him. Maybe I could find a way around that restriction?

I should practice that in my own time.

Freed had shown an interest in Touki and, after some demonstrations of my Touki, had started to work towards the same goal. To be honest, this is kind of a risky move. At this point, I have no choice _but_ to fix Freed after giving him the opportunity to become stronger. Just thinking of a Touki-enhanced, crazy Freed with a fused Excalibur makes me shiver.

But that won't happen. Rather, I won't let that happen.

I think that right now, I'm the first of my generation to obtain Touki. I'm pretty sure that I began my training (read: punishing my body) before Sairaorg did, meaning that I probably unlocked it before him as well. That kind of makes me feel happy for some strange reason.

Anyways, with me obtaining Touki, I had gotten to tick off one objective from my list. My next goal is to try and learn how to use Senjutsu, though the chances of that happening are pretty low; the only people I know of who use Senjutsu are Kuroka, Koneko, Sun Wukong and Bikou. I'm sure that there's another one but I can't remember their name.

The point is that none of those people would train me in Senjutsu without a proper reason. Kuroka is still part of a peerage, hence she's with the Devil Faction and I can't be near her without being reported.

Koneko is far too young and by the time she is of age, I still wouldn't be able to go near her without being reported to Rias.

As for Bikou and Sun Wukong, I have no idea where they are, nor can I just walk up to them and say "I want you to teach me Senjutsu".

So to sum it up, I have no way to learn Senjutsu for the next couple of years. Since I've already obtained Touki and a sword teacher, all I've been doing is focus on training my magic.

The good news is that my Magic Core has increased in size after all those spells I would practice. I have enough Mana to rival that of a middle-class Magician, which will only increase in the future so long as I keep stretching my Magic Core with the usage of spells.

I've also moved on from the Runes beginner guide and am almost finished with the intermediate guide. At my current level, I'm able to create multiple rune-chains with a single gesture, with the most being seven rune-chains. The more rune-chains I want to make, the smaller the chains have to be, though the magic circle is able to fix that problem easily. Now all I have to do is reach a certain level of magic control where I can spam magic circles and essentially become a one-man magical bombardment squad.

The better news is that the Mana crystals are a godsend.

The first couple of times, I had failed spectacularly; there are still signs of the explosions in my bedroom. After a couple of more tries, I had begun to get the hang of it. Whenever I manage to fill them to the limit perfectly, she gives me another batch that require less Mana and more control, and the cycle just repeated itself for the next year.

Right now I'm on my second hundred crystal; it keeps getting harder as I progress and I have to make time for the rest of my schedule, so I won't be finished any time soon-

***BOOM***

...I don't think I'll ever go beyond two hundred.

"What happened!?" "Are you okay!?" "What did you do this time?" Sister Sophia, Lint and Freed asked in that order as they all came rushing into my bedroom, worry displayed on _most_ of their faces.

Looking at you, Freed.

"It's fine, no problems whatsoever!" I assured them, coughing and wiping the soot off my face as I spoke. I don't think I did a very good job; at least, that's what Sister Sophia's glare is telling me.

"How many times do I have to tell you not to practice magic on your own?!" She told me off, wiping my face with a wet towel.

"But I couldn't wait any longer! I had a really good idea recently but it requires a higher degree of magic control, and-"

"Sieg is lying! He told me that he found a way to create a magic bomb!" Freed! How could you just throw me under the bus like that!?

"A magic fuel bomb!" Dude! Stop breaking the Bro Code!

"Is this true Sieg?"

"No it isn't-"

"Check his notebook! He writes all his ideas in there!"

Freed, you little-

* * *

The sound of sword swings echoed throughout the training room as I parried every strike sent my way by Freed. I continued to rush him without letting up once; without giving him the chance to counterattack.

"_All of my hate..._" I hissed as Freed and I clashed swords once more. I was lucky that we were sharing Combat Training today; it gave me a chance to express my hatred for the black-haired boy in front of me.

"I did what I had to do." Freed replied as he parried my wooden sword, forcing me on the defensive. "My actions saved everyone's lives today."

"You broke the code! You don't just get to break the code and walk away unharmed!"

Freed's fighting style was a technical one; each strike was delivered with a balance of power and technique, aiming to knock me down in a single blow if his sword managed to connect.

Just as another sword strike was blocked, I retaliated with a swing aiming at Freed's waist to knock him off balance. He jumped over it and returned an overhead swing of his own, forcing me to twist my body. While I didn't manage to get a hit on him, I did manage to create a gap between us by jumping back.

Having regained my bearings, I dashed forward, swinging my sword down at Freed's legs in order to limit his movement. In turn, he smashed his sword into my own with all his might, effectively keeping it in its place. He slid his sword across my own weapon, trying to strike my head but at the last moment, I ducked and swung my sword upwards, throwing him off balance.

Several more clashes echoed: first one, then two and soon enough, at least ten.

The battle raged on for quite some time; each blow being matched with equal strength, each strike being blocked with practised ease. Another overhead strike was blocked as I raised my arms. As soon as our swords made contact, I pulled my arm backwards and tilted my sword to the left, forcing his weapon to slide down my own before I countered.

"Ow!"

"And that's another point for me. I win." I placed my wooden sword on the ground and held a hand out towards Freed, gesturing for him to grab onto it.

"Can't you show some restraint?" he asked as I helped him up.

"After you broke the code?" I snorted. "I don't think so."

Freed groaned as he nursed his shoulder, the pain having already starting to recede. Thanks to our _torture_-I mean, training sessions, with Griselda, we were quite durable. Say what you will about that monster but her lessons have done wonders.

"So what's the score now?" I called out.

"It's two in your favour!" someone replied from the spectator stands. Freed frowned at the reminder of his score but accepted it nonetheless. I stretched my arms above me, releasing a satisfied groan as Freed and I made our way back to our places.

We were just about to start sparring again when we were interrupted by Griselda.

"Warriors Freed, Siegfried and Wren. Stop what you're doing and come here immediately." She called from the other side of the training room. I sent a quick look to Freed who just shrugged and dropped his sword.

I have to admit that I'm kind of annoyed that I didn't get to carry on sparring against Freed. I certainly wasn't a battle junkie in my old life but having all this power just makes me want to hit something.

Is this the reason why Vali enjoys fighting so much? If it is, I can see why.

"You called for us?" I asked once I arrived at her location. She gave the groaning pile of students behind her one last look before letting them go and get some rest. It's a good thing that she knows when someone's reached their limit, otherwise we would all have died before we even became Exorcists.

As they left, Griselda turned away from her latest batch of victims to face the three of us. "The three of you have been ordered to return to the Sigurd Institute." She said, getting straight to the point. "And before you ask, I don't know the reason behind this order." She added before Wren could ask.

"Is there a specific time that we need to be there?" Freed inquired.

"In the next forty minutes." Well, it takes us five minutes at most to change and ten minutes to get to the Institute; we should have enough time.

"And just the three of us?" I asked.

"From what I know, all the Sigurd descendants have been told to gather at the Sigurd Institute." And the plot thickens...

So all the Sigurd descendants are being called back to the Institute and we don't know why. Damn it, I hate it when I'm left in the dark.

"With that said, go and get changed." Griselda finished before turning away and moving towards her next group of victims. A group of boys were messing about in the far end of the training room, their laughs travelling all the way to our current location.

Those fools. You don't get to laugh in Griselda Quarta's Evil Combat Course from Hell. The only laughter allowed in this place is that of the deranged. Their fates were sealed the moment Griselda caught wind of their smiles.

As soon as they made eye contact with her, every one of them was rendered pale white.

There was no escaping now.

Godspeed brothers.

_**Ten minutes later...**_

"So why do you think they're calling us back?" I asked as Freed, Wren and I left the training institute. I was glad to see Freed still nursing some of his injuries while Wren decided to stay as far away as he could from me without making it too obvious.

"I suppose we'll find out when we get there." Freed replied. It didn't really answer my question though. I turned towards Wren who was trying his hardest to pretend he didn't notice my gaze.

Wren Wagner: designation number 42. He's a part of the Wagner series that was created a couple of months after my own series. Like the rest of us descendants, he was born with ruby-like eyes. Every one of the Wagner series members were also born with golden-blonde hair.

It's just that Wren was born with a rather... feminine appearance, contrary to his brothers.

Ladies and gentlemen, I present to you.

Wren Wagner

The Trap™.

And the female descendants-and sometimes the sisters as well-took the chance to dress him up in female clothing. After spending most of his life in female clothing, it isn't a surprise that he's taken a liking to female clothing.

Well, it's not like I have any problems with it. I don't feel anything in the first place; Wren is just a kid after all.

Now. If only he wasn't so afraid of me, everything would be perfect.

"Wren? What do you think-"

"_Idon'tknowI'msosorrypleasedon'thurtme_!" Wren blurted out, ready to cry at any moment. Rion was right; I traumatised him pretty badly. I don't even remember what I did to the poor kid but it must have been pretty bad.

I ignored the look Freed was giving me and tried one more time.

"W-Wren, I just want to-"

"_SorrybutIhavetogonowgoodbyesir!_" I didn't even get a chance to apologise for what I did to him; he had disappeared in the same instant.

"Like I said, traumatised." Freed quipped as he entered the Sigurd Institute.

* * *

"So you know why they called us back?" Rion asked me. Rion, Riel and Lint entered the Sigurd Institute moments after Freed and I arrived, locating the two of us in a short amount of time.

"No idea." I replied, looking around at all the confused faces of the descendants. "I don't think _anyone_ knows why we were called back early. It must have been important if they called all of us back."

Breakfast is, as always, the loudest part of the day. The oldest generation of Sigurd descendants have gotten used to their timetables now, and the excitement they showed on their first day was pretty much gone now. The younger generations, however, still enjoy hearing stories of what goes on during training and never seem to be satisfied.

"And!? What happened next!?"

"Hurry up and tell us."

"Well, after Griselda was finished with Freed, she turned her sights towards me!" I grinned when Lint let out a small gasp and Riel's eyes, even with her deadpan expression, began to sparkle. "I held my ground and fought back but it wasn't easy. Not easy at all." I continued with a shake of my head. "She was as strong and fast as a magical beast, but in the end, even she was no match for my-"

"Sieg got knocked out in one hit." Freed snorted, having decided to interrupt my story from his side of the breakfast table.

"Freed! Why do you always try to ruin everything!?"

"Eh? So... So everything was a lie?" Lint asked with a hurt expression. "You didn't face the She-Devil in one-on-one combat?"

"You didn't

"Don't listen to Freed, he's just jealous because he got taken out in the beginning." I eased her worries with a head pat, melting when I saw her lean into the palm of my hand. A glance at Freed showed that the boy looked quite annoyed at how easily I saw through his actions.

"I didn't get taken out in the beginning..." he quietly mumbled to himself.

Keep telling yourself that, buddy.

"Anyway!" I removed my hand from Lint's fluffy head as I turned to face the rest of the table. "We have the whole day to ourselves, so what do _you_ all want to do?"

Jeanne was going to be busy today, training with Vasco and all, and Asia is swamped with Holy Priestess duty today, so it's just going to be the five of us relaxing. I wonder what we should do-

**"CAN I HAVE YOUR ATTENTION, BOYS AND GIRLS."** the speakers suddenly blared. **"THIS IS DR MORETTI SPEAKING. WILL THE 1ST GENERATION OF THE 1ST TO 10TH SERIES' MAKE THEIR WAY TO THE AUDITORIUM. I REPEAT, WILL THE 1ST GENERATION OF THE 1ST TO 10TH SERIES' MAKE THEIR WAY TO THE AUDITORIUM."**

...Well, I suppose my question has been answered.

_**Five minutes later**_

"So what do you think is going on?" Rion asked as we sat down in our seats. Almost everyone looked a little bit confused at what was happening, especially since they didn't really give us a reason for calling us here. More specifically, the generations he chose are those filled with the oldest descendants.

"No idea." I shrugged, looking around at all the confused faces of the descendants. "I don't think _anyone_ knows why we were called."

"Quiet, Dr Moretti is here." Freed whispered.

I turned to face the front and, up on the stage, could see the man in question.

Dr Moretti is a young looking man with shaggy brown hair and a scruffy beard. Under his white coat was a brown turtleneck, black pants and shoes, and he always looked like he wanted to be somewhere else; all in all, he gave off the Bachelor-Uncle vibe.

He's the current chief of the Sigurd Institute after the previous one was replaced; apparently, he had some nasty plans for us before we relocated to Vatican city but thanks to Griselda looking into the place, his plans were discovered and he was excommunicated. Again, another fine example of the butterfly effect.

You know what? At this point, canon can just go fuck itself. It was already screwed the moment I was reincarnated so what's the harm if I mess with it a little more?

"Alright boys and girls, Let's get this over with as soon as possible." Dr Moretti yawned. "It's that time of year again where we give our exorcist trainees a chance to test themselves to see if they're compatible with the relics stored in the Vatican."

As he said this, he pulled out a small device and pressed a button. As soon as his finger pushed down on the button, the wall behind him let out a hiss as it began to slowly open up, revealing a large corridor.

And what we saw made everyone pause in their tracks.

Swords, spears, bows, daggers and all other types of weapons could be found lined up on the wall. On the right were weapons that all gave off a faint glow of gold light, banishing the shadows surrounding it. On the left were, strangely, only five weapons that all gave off a cold feeling, with every one of them strangely giving off no light despite the various lights surrounding them.

They were all unique in their own way: one of the swords were coloured entirely gold and released a small glow: another one oozed with bloodlust: the bow on the far right looked like it would burn through the restraints at any moment: the sword at the start of the left wall had wisps of blue light surrounding it.

These... are not normal weapons.

"Some of you may have already guessed that these are not your average enchanted weapons." Dr Moretti continued. "That is because they are weapons that have been collected by the Church, reaching back as far as the first century AD. Every one of them are ancient weapons that have been recorded in various legends."

He pointed at a first sword on the right side that gave off one of the weakest glows. It's a basic-looking silver longsword with an elongated crossguard but the tip seems to have been broken off. "That right there is Courtain, also known as the "Sword of Mercy", a mid-tier Holy Sword that was carried by Sir Tristain, a Knight of the Round Table, and Ogier the Dane."

Then he pointed at a sword on the left side of the corridor. The blade was pitch black in colour with white runes stretching across it, and the handle and guard were a brilliant silver. "That sword is Dáinsleif, an A-rank Demon Sword that can generate a freezing aura. Demon Swords are stronger than their counterparts, and the fastest way to gain strength, though they tend to kill their wielders in the process."

He turned to face the shocked crowd of hero descendants with a smug grin.

"And if you're lucky, some of you may get to wield them."

Safe to say, the entire auditorium lost it.

* * *

"Damn, another failure." I muttered to myself as I placed down the golden, oversized sword. I had high hopes for Almace but it looks like we can't all get what we want.

Looking around, I can see a lot of the other descendants frowning and muttering, placing the weapons back in their stands. So far, nobody has had any luck, though that's probably because everyone is sticking to the weapons on the right side rather than the left.

After our momentary state of absolute pandemonium, Dr Moretti went on to explain what kind of weapons they were exactly. I had a small inkling as to what they were but his words all but confirmed it for me.

The weapons lined up on the right side of the corridor are all Holy-Class weapons while the weapons lined up on the left side of the corridor are all Demon-Class weapons.

So obviously, everyone is going to go for the weapons that are safer and easier to use, rather than the weapons that are harder to use and eat away at your lifespan.

Unfortunately, none of the swords seem to accept me. I probably don't have a powerful Light element, otherwise at least one of the weapons would react to my presence.

Now that I think about it, my canon counterpart also didn't have any Holy weapons, barring the mass-produced Light Sword. Maybe this is a sign that I can't wield Holy weapons?

I do seem to remember that the selection of Demon-Class weapons is different from the selection of Holy-Class weapons in the way that the latter requires a certain level of Light while the former is decided by the weapon themselves.

So that would mean that Demon-Class weapons have a consciousness. They are aware that nobody wants anything to do with them, and they can't do anything about it.

That... That's kind of sad.

I snuck a glance to the Demon-Class weapons taking up the opposite wall. I could feel the sadness from them as they were ignored. Their frustration at not being wanted, their rage at never getting to leave their restraints and being forced to gather dust.

Their despair at not being able to accomplish the goals of their creators: a chance to witness the greatest of battlefields that they were forged to stand in.

And it was the last sword that felt the most despair. The sword that was rusted from the bottom to the top, dust clinging onto it like a lifeline as it remained standing. Strangely enough, it was the only sword without a stand; rather, it was stabbed into a tree trunk.

I don't know what it was that made me go through my decision, nor why I did it. All I knew was that I had to hold that sword in my hand.

I didn't waste any time in making my way towards the Demon-Class weapons, ignoring the surprised looks from my fellow descendants and the raised eyebrow of Dr Moretti.

As soon as I left the area that was enveloped by the Holy weapons, and took a step into the opposing area, I was hit right in the face by the demonic aura they were all naturally putting out. It felt like all five swords were staring at me with open curiosity, as if I were an interesting specimen.

Or a small piece of hope.

I made my way to the sword that caught my eye the first time. I stood directly in front of the rusted Demon Sword and the first thing I felt was the fiery aura running through me. It's appearance was hidden away by the amount of rust that has accumulated over the years; only small traces of what hide below could barely be seen.

"_Gram_" I muttered, reading the inscription above the sword stand. I could feel a strange feeling bubbling inside me, wanting to laugh at how silly this situation felt to me.

It must have been an amazing sword thousands of years ago.

To think that such a sword has been reduced to this level.

I didn't hesitate to grab the handle, drawing a mixture of shocked gasps from everyone watching.

Did I care?

Not in the slightest.

_"You are of Sigurd's blood."_ an alluring, female voice spoke directly into my head. It didn't take a genius to figure out who it was.

"That's right. My name is Siegfried, a descendent of Sigurd." I introduced myself, more calmly than I thought.

_"T__here is no fear in you. Why?"_

"What is there to fear?"

_"Ah, so confidence then, is it?"_ Gram chuckled darkly, her soft voice dripping with a... resigned tone? _"I know of your type, child. The type who think that they can tame a sword such as I." _

"Well, that's not true at all." I pouted. "I like to think that I'm different from others."

_"Oh? And how so? Tell me, how are you any different from the hundreds of men who wielded my brothers and sisters? What makes you different from the hundreds of thousands of humans who only want a subservient tool?"_

"They didn't care about what _you_ all wanted for yourselves, did they?" I replied. "I can see why you would try to actively kill all your wielders, when they just see you as a tool."

I do. I truly do. After all, we Sigurd descendants are also considered disposable tools by the Church higher-ups.

_"You did not answer the question, child."_

"I am different because I understand how you feel. The looks they give you, knowing that it doesn't matter what happens to you in the end. It makes you angry, doesn't it? Truthfully, I feel the same way. I hate it when I'm treated as disposable, as if my life doesn't mean anything. It makes me want to hurt them, just so I can prove that I'm more than what they believe me to be."

Gram seemed to quiet down at that, a newfound curiosity that concealed a small glimmer of hope.

"Trust me when I say that I completely understand how you feel. So if I told you that I would never treat you the way I have been treated, that I would see you as a partner and a friend, would you accept me?"

_"If you are lying to me, I swear that I shall-"_

"I am not lying, otherwise you can just kill me right now and be done with it."

_..."Do you speak the truth when you say you understand how we feel?"_

"I do."

_"And you shall not go back on your word?"_

"Never."

I could practically feel the _emotion_ coming from the sword in my hands.

_"You truly want to wield a sword that shall take your life in the end?"_

"Only if you'll let me. After all, it's _your_ choice to make."

_..."Then I will follow you to the ends of the earth, descendent of Sigurd."_

I smiled as I fully removed Gram from the stand, feeling the previously cold aura turn lukewarm as it caressed my body. Gram released a bright light, shining like a beacon-_no_, like a sun. The rust that adorned its features was burnt away, leaving nothing but crisps to reveal the beautiful weapon that is the Sword of the Sun.

A round pommel of a beautiful silver, and a grip of gold with a strip of blue. A slanted crossguard with squared ends that was facing upwards, the gold colour scheme practically in my hand. The rainguard was a matching gold and, laid directly above it, there was a small inscription of unknown origin. The blade was a bright silver that glimmered proudly underneath the light, flawless and pristine without a single blemish; I could see my face reflecting from it.

In that moment, everything just felt... right.

I waved my arm around, testing its weight and speed. It's quite heavy but not anything I can't handle. The aura surrounding it wasn't spreading out anymore; it was fit snugly around Gram's blade.

"Call me Sieg, like all my friends do." I said aloud to Gram, receiving an affirmative hum in response.

Ah... I went and did it after all. I just couldn't help it in the end.

...You know what?

In for a penny, in for a demonic pound.

"Gram, what do your siblings think about leaving this place once and for all?"

_"My brothers and sisters would most definitely prefer to be free of their wretched confines." _Gram replied eagerly, practically vibrating in my hands.

I didn't bother turning around to see all the shell-shocked descendants behind me, opting to face the rest of the Demon Swords weapons.

"Well? Want to come along with me?"

Tyrfing, Nothung, Balmung and Dáinsleif all glowed erratically in response.

* * *

**And that's chapter 6 complete.**

**So there we have it, Siegfried has officially unlocked his Touki. It never really went into detail in regard to Touki and Senjutsu, so it isn't exactly clear as to how old most users are when they unlock Touki. I understand that I made it sound easy to gain Touki, but think about it for a moment. **

**Most races in the DxD world rely on their magic or weapons, rather than their physical abilities. It's easier to increase magic/demonic/holy power than it is to increase physical strength, thus most denizens of the Supernatural rely on the latter.**

**And humans have weak bodies to begin with, so they're forced to reinforce their bodies using magic. At least, that's my own theory as to why there aren't a lot of Touki users.**

**Moving on, Wren Wagner has been introduced! I wasn't planning on adding too many OC's but I felt on an instinctive level that Sieg-kun needs to have his own Astolfo-chan. At some point, Wren probably won't be afraid of him anymore so you can look forward to that. Oh boy, I'm going to have a lot of fun writing Wren. Just imagine the moment Issei meets him. _It will be glorious!_**

**And finally! Demon Swords confirmed! Demon Swords are stated to have a will of their own. Working on that, I've decided that it isn't far fetched to say that they have a conscious, and if they have a conscious, then they can communicate with their wielders. They don't have an actual body since they aren't beings that are sealed into the swords so much as they are the swords themselves, so don't expect his swords to join his harem or something. Those are fetish levels we shouldn't even be looking at.**

**I've also decided that I'm going to be giving every single Demon Sword a different appearance from the the anime versions, since I didn't like what they did in the anime; Gram was the only sword in my opinion that looked alright but in this story, I'm giving it the appearance of Gram before it was reforged by Sigurd from the Nasuverse. And yes, I'm planning on giving these swords the buff of a lifetime. Some of them will be simple while some will be awesome to write about, so stay calm and wait a while longer.**

**And now, review time!**

**[flitterflux] Damn, you saw through my plans at the last possible moment. Kudos to you, my friend.**

**[Kensei-1085] The thing is that Holy Swords are different from Demon Swords in the way that you need a certain amount of Light element for their wielders to be compatible with it. Meanwhile, Demon Swords choose their own wielders as they have their own will. That's why Siegfried can't wield Holy Swords; he was just never meant to wield them in the first place. Hell, even Irina wasn't meant to wield one in the first place. The only reason she did was because she was given the Property of Light, namely the crystallised Light element.**

**[Shen] I agree with you on that point. That's why even if he was chosen by the Demon Swords, he's going to have to work hard if he wants to learn how to wield them. I think that if characters are given power-ups, then they should work hard to control it rather than learn how to use it to its full capacity on their first try. I'm also planning on expanding a lot on Norse mythology, namely the nine realms connected to Yggdrasil.**

**[SoftItalics] I have plans for Masaomi and Cleria, don't you worry about that. I can't really answer the rest of your review without spoiling the story though, nor am I planning at any point. Sorry about that.**

**[Yevon] If he were to become a guardian of Gaia, then he would have to relinquish his humanity in some way. I'm not planning on removing his humanity any time soon, and does Gaia even need Counter Guardians to be honest? I like to think that a creature that has an absolute right to kill man would do a good job, that is when it isn't being shackled to a loli-vampire or a cute fluff-ball. In regards to the potential of humanity, well, I'm going to have _lots_ of fun abusing it.**

**[dj max] Seriously, just when I thought that the story couldn't get any more ridiculous, these random machine gods, said to be stronger than Ophis, Great Red or Trihexa, just come out of nowhere. And what the hell is up with a boob deity? That's the dumbest shit I've heard in my life. So to answer your question: no. All of that ****EXE bullshit can just stay the hell away from my story, I'm not having any of that crap here.**

**[Dxhologram] He will have to move on at some point since there's only so much a book can teach you. I've got some semblance of a plan regarding who's going to teach him but it should be ready when the time comes.**

**[TehStorm] Don't worry about his lifespan being absorbed, I already thought of like four different methods to overcome that. As for Ascalon, I'm going to leave that with Issei. The reason Micheal gave it to him in the first place was as a show of trust, to show that the Heaven/Church faction can and will work together with the Underworld and Fallen factions. Besides, Balmung is a Dragonslayer so he would technically still have two Dragonslayer swords.**

**[ARSOLTHES] There's not much that a modern weapon can do against a legendary weapon that's been forged by famous blacksmiths, or bathed in dragon blood, or even forged by gods. There's also the fact that the various races of the Supernatural have a different physiology compared to humans. For all we know, normal bullets and swords will just bounce off their skin or something like that.**

**[Sakra95] The "contract with Midgardsormr" idea isn't bad, but isn't he currently asleep at the bottom of the ocean? I doubt he would wake up just to listen to the request of a human.**

**[apostlelord] Since this Siegfried wasn't put through experimentation thanks to Griselda, he doesn't have his white hair. At his current age, just imagine a young Solace/Fenriart from Elsword. That's the closest appearance I can think of that resembles him.**


	7. An Important Lesson

**Disclaimer: I do not own Highschool DxD or any of the references found in this story, nor am I making any profit from this story. All original Highschool DxD characters and references belong to their rightful owners, I just own the original characters and concepts that I have created myself.**

* * *

The duration of the Sword Ceremony had mostly ended with a failure for most of the descendants. There were only a handful who have the "potential" to wield the Holy-Class weapons, but that was where it ended.

So in the end, everyone left the auditorium with empty hands and crestfallen expressions. Meanwhile, I walked out while holding five Demon Swords of legend in my hands, not unlike a mother would carry her child, with a giddy smile plastered on my face.

"Man, I can't wait to introduce you all to my friends. They're going to lose it." I told my swords when I arrived in my bedroom. I have no doubt that tomorrow morning, everyone is going to be on my case. There's already been talk of a success among the Institute staff and everyone is placing me one some pedestal that never existed before.

_"I also find myself looking forward to meeting these strangers if they are anything like you."_

"Oh stop it, you're going to make me blush!" I giggled like a love-struck high school girl.

"**Please cease the infernal giggling.**" another voice spoke up, prompting me to shut my mouth and stare at the sword on the far right. It came as a surprise when I found the sword's appearance to be similar to it's other-world counterpart. A large, two-handed greatsword with a an elongated crossguard and blue gem embedded right in the centre of the hilt and a silver, double-edged blade.

Unlike Gram's soft voice, this voice was filled with authority. "**It is unbecoming of my wielder to giggle like an idiot.**"

"Ah. Sorry about that."

Balmung glowed with what I suspect to be a sigh before the light died out again.

"_Come now sister, don't be such a spoil sport. This is the first time in over a century that we've gotten to leave that dusty old room. You should try to... what was it Sigurd always used to say... live a little?_"

"**I shall 'live a little' once my wielder has shown some maturity.**" Balmung huffed. "**And so far, I have seen nothing to prove that. Siegfried, _my Siegfried_, was a lot more composed even at this age.**"

"Wait a minute." I interrupted, "What do you mean Siegfried? I thought that Sigurd and Siegfried were the same person."

I knew that I made a mistake in asking that question. Balmung began glowing erratically in annoyance; not directed at me, but just annoyance in general.

"**That's only because some bumbling fool of a playwright decided on it without any proof! Siegfried was far more greater than Sigurd ever was!**"

"_We both know that isn't true, little sister." _Gram scoffed. _"Do not forget that Sigurd was just as adept in the mystic arts as he was with the sword._"

"**And he was nothing compared to Siegfried when it came to swordplay; does that not mean he was just as terrible with his mysticism?**"

"_Watch yourself sister, lest I show you why I am called the Sword of the Sun._"

"Um, can you not fight in my room? I really like this place and it's the closest room I could get to Freed and Lint."

The two swords let out a small grumble as the light began to die down.

Phew, disaster averted.

"So, how about the three of you? Got anything you want to say?" I turned towards the three swords who had decided to remain quiet for most of the conversation.

("I do not have much to say. You have already proven yourself to be better than most of your race, if sister's compliments mean anything.") Tyrfing was the first to speak with a quiet, calm and evidently female voice.

Similarly to Balmung, Tyrfing also has a blue gem embedded in the centre of its hilt, along with the elongated crossguard. However, it also has two blue gems embedded into each end of the crossguard and one more acting as the pommel and the blade is white in colour but slowly shifts to black near the tip, which curves outwards before turning back in.

{"_I agree with Tyrfing. You understand us better than most of our past wielders. I would not mind being wielded by a human such as yourself._"} Nothung also added her own piece, her deep voice somehow echoing in my head.

Nothung is entirely black in colour, from the bottom to the top, with a silver edge surrounding everything sans the handle, and a white symbol located on the tip of the sword. While it was rather simple in appearance, the first thing that comes into mind whenever I look at Nothung is "_Sharp_". There was a faint, white aura surrounding it that gave off a surprisingly calm feeling for such a sharp-looking weapon.

["Buddy, I was with you from the moment you took me out that storage room!] Dainsleif laughed with a cheery, female voice. The blade seemed to slightly vibrate as she laughed.

Of the five swords, Dainsleif stood out the most due to its bright appearance. Its grip is a darker colour than the rest of the blade, leading up to a crossguard that is exactly perpendicular to the grip, and a large aquamarine gem at the centre of the guard. The blade itself is a deep aqua colour and the base of the blade has a light-aqua attachment.

Unlike the previous five swords, Dainsleif is constantly releasing a cold aura into the surroundings. If I don't keep the blade sheathed, my bedroom would probably end up frozen.

And while their words were well received, I couldn't help but raise an eyebrow at Dainsleif.

["What?]

"Huh... I didn't really expect such a warm reaction from a '_cold_' sword. I guess you're pretty '_cool_' yourself." I chuckled.

"_Oh no._"

"Hmm? 'Oh no', what?"

["Oh, I like you, I really like you..."] Dainsleif began chuckling in a rather creepy way. Should I call the police? Is there even such a thing as the Sword-Police?

"_I didn't think she could get any worse..._" "**No! Not another one!**" {"_Destroy her this instant!_"} ("Oh dear Odin...")

["Wow, you guys really need to '_chill_' out. Get it? '_Chill_' out? Because I'm an ice sword?]

"_Here we go..._" "**What were those dwarves thinking when they forged you!?**" _{"Why must you be this way, sister?"} _("It's too late, she's never going to stop now.")

"Alright, how about this ice pun! So basically I..." I paused for a moment before releasing a sigh. "Aw damn, I forgot it. It must have '_slipped_' my mind!"

["Hah! Nice one!"] Dainsleif chortled. ["Consider this the start of a beautiful friendship, master~!"]

"_Sieg, please stop._" "**I should have expected this from one of Sigurd's blood!**" {"_I should never have left that room!_"} ("My lord Odin, All-Father and King of the Aesir who resides in Asgard! Please save me!")

* * *

Another year has passed and with it, many changes have come my way.

For starters, Valper Galilei has been excommunicated two months ago. He had finally reached the point where he decided to discard his test subjects after the Holy Sword project was considered to be a failure.

By myself, there was nothing I could do. Any accusations without any proof would have been ignored, and nobody would listen to the words of a child, an artificial child at that.

So all I did was force them to investigate without having to lift a finger. It was actually rather simple, especially when you have close relations to the most respected man of the Church, barring the Pope, Cardinal Strada. I knew that if anyone were to listen consider my words, it would be him.

It also helped that Archbishop Valper had been watching Jeanne from a distance ever since the Sword Ceremony. She had become the wielder of Excalibur Blessing, most likely due to her status as Joan of Arc's spirit holder. Her reputation with the Church skyrocketed as a result, just as mine did, and it managed to reach the Archbishop who had gained an obsession with her as a result.

It was rather terrifying seeing the level of obsession he had for Jeanne. The sight of an old Archbishop with a pot belly, staring at a group of children with unblinking eyes, is enough to scare even the bravest of men. Seeing the hungry gaze from a man of the Church had me instinctively clench my butt cheeks and prepare to fight for my innocence.

Thank God he's gone.

In the end, Gramps had sent a couple of exorcists in as spies to monitor Valper to make sure the Archbishop didn't make any rash decisions. It made me feel a lot better than usual knowing that I might have helped prevent the deaths of innocent children.

However, I didn't fully succeed. Valper still managed to kill some of the children, just not all of them. The reports showed that there were six confirmed deaths and three survivors who were currently missing.

I tried convincing myself that thanks to my actions, I managed to save more victims than in the original timeline, but that doesn't really make me feel any better. Children-_i__nnocent children-_were killed.

That... That's just wrong, _so_ wrong.

I don't think I'll ever feel better knowing that five innocent children were murdered by a madman that I knew about before it happened. Maybe I'll never get over it, but it helps knowing that Archbishop Galilei will die.

Valper Galilei has to die, there's no other way to go about it, and if he isn't killed by a certain Fallen Angel or one of the project's victims, then he will die by my hand.

It was with that train of thought that I had begun to train even harder. As a result, I've finally managed to go past two-hundred Mana crystals. Right now, I'm on my two-hundredth and fifty-second crystal. The only problem is that I have so many of them, I have to keep them in a dimensional storage, otherwise there would be no space in my bedroom anymore.

I've lost count of how many crystals I destroyed in the process and Professor D'Aiello has stated that she would be taking the costs out of my future wage once I become an Exorcist.

Speaking of magic, I've hit my limit with Rune magic. At my current level, I can't progress any further without being taught by an expert. There are a number of magicians in the Vatican but they're usually looked down upon or treated with some disdain, seeing as how magic and Christianity don't mix well together.

I think I'm one of the only trainees to be learning other forms of magic barring the Church Sacraments, a power that uses faith to perform all sorts of different effects. Hmm. Maybe I should look into them.

As for Touki, I haven't advanced by much since it's just activating and deactivating it. I've had some ideas on what else I could do with it but that's all they are at the moment. Ideas. I don't even know how or where to begin implementing those ideas without the use of Senjutsu. So until I learn Senjutsu, I'll be limited to just the basic use of Touki.

I've also begun training with the five Demon Swords, each one easily showing themselves to be able to back up the legends of their power. I had trouble getting used to their different sizes and weights but managed in the end.

Oh!

Another big event is that Jeanne finally unlocked her Sacred Gear!

It happened during the Sword Ceremony, where she had been chosen by Excalibur Blessing. The holy aura that was given off by the Excalibur shard seemed to have synced with her Sacred Gear, forcing it to manifest. She wasn't in danger of the forced manifestation due to the calm nature of Holy Swords; it was just a real surprise when she sneezed and a dozen Holy Swords protruded from the ground below.

Ever since then, she's begun training even harder to master her Blade Blacksmith. I've given her a few ideas on what kind of weapons she could create and ended up exploiting the Sacred Gear.

Blade Blacksmith is only able to create Holy Swords, we already know that much. All I told her to do was create swords with different shapes as to emulate different weapons. For example, a spear is just a sword with a really long handle and a small blade. A dagger is just a sword of small proportions. A mace is just a sword with four blunt blades facing opposite directions. An arrow is just a sword with a tiny, light blade and thin body.

And she can create swords with all kinds of different attributes just by willing it? Then what's stopping her from creating a sword that oscillates at high speeds? Or a sword that can absorb magic power? Hell, why not forge a sword that can produce chocolate milk? Holy chocolate milk is a thing now and it tastes _amazing_!

Jeanne didn't leave her home for a couple of days after I gave her all sorts of sword ideas.

As for life in the Sigurd Institute and the Training Program, it has proven itself to be an absolute hassle.

Lint and Riel have finally been inducted into the Training Program. Lint was so excited that she couldn't fall asleep and ended up late on her first day. I _know_ that Riel could have woken her up but decided not to; she seems to have taken an... _interest_, shall we say, in my cute little Lint and whenever we see that certain gleam in her eye, we just look the other way.

Rion, your sister is a wolf in sheep's clothing. Stop fawning over her.

I had no problems before the Sword Ceremony had taken place, with most of the attention I had garnered being due to my status as a training maniac, but now that I've become the wielder of not one, not two, three or four, but _five_ Demon Swords, I've suddenly become an important figure in the Vatican.

I've been called the_ Successor of_ _Sigurd_ a couple of times and the _Second Coming of the Dragonslayer_ at others.

Fuck off, you crusty old geezers! Stop treating me like a deluxe action-man figurine and just leave me the fuck alone! Is it not enough that you have children training to fight for your lazy asses in the future, now you want to parade me around like a celebrity!

Do they know how embarrassing this is for me!? I'm sorry that I don't enjoy all the attention and titles, or the sudden respect I'm getting from various Church members! I'm sorry that I'm not a chuuni like the rest of the world seems to be!

And don't even get me started on their outfits! There is no way in any of the seven hells that I'm going to wear that... that_ thing_!

And for some reason, every single descendent of my generation seem to hate me! I can literally feel their glares on my back everyday and the teachers don't seem to realise it!

All I did was pass a test that was basically the purpose behind our creation while they all failed! Why would they be mad at me?

And Jeanne has been giving me some weird looks recently. I've never seen anyone switch from confusion to annoyance, to determination followed by embarrassment and finally back to determination again. It's been leaving me confused.

* * *

**Four Months ago...**

_How can he ignore the stares sent his way; the _expectations_ forced onto his shoulders?_

_That thought had been plaguing the mind of one Jeanne L'Ange as she watched the scene playing out in front of her._

_"Siegfried! I challenge you to a duel for ownership of your swords!"_

_"I wish I could, but I really don't want to. Now please step aside."_

_And once again, Sieg has refused another challenge. She could already see the disappointed expressions of those who watched alongside her, hoping to see the "_Successor of Siegfried_" display his strength._

_Ever since the Sword Ceremony, it had become an open fact that the Sigurd Institution had succeeded in their goal of producing the perfect wielder of Gram, the strongest Demon Sword. All sorts of expectations had been thrown on her friend, expectations that she knew very well as one who carries the Maiden of Orleans' spirit._

_It's not easy being yourself when all the adults want you to be someone else, someone you can _never_ hope to measure up to, but she has persevered. Every day, she spends her time working on polishing her skills; on praying to God; on acting like a proper maiden._

_On being someone she isn't._

_"What's wrong, afraid that I'll beat you?" the latest challenger taunted. "If you're anything like the Dragonslayer they say you are, then you'll-"_

_"But I'm not the Dragonslayer. I'm just a kid with a really cool set of demonic-class sentient swords and you're stopping me from getting to Magic Theory."_

_So how does Sieg do it? How can he still be the same Sieg as always, rather than _Sigurd the Dragonslayer_, even with the pressure and expectations placed on him?_

_Jeanne doesn't understand-_can't understand_-and it annoys her, but she _wants_ to understand._

_Maybe, she might find an answer if she were to... keep a closer eye on him?_

_I-it has nothing to do with how he is an interesting person and treats her like a normal person, or how they have a lot in common! not at all!_

_Yes, that's right! It's just her trying to understand, that's it!_

* * *

Did I do something to offend her? I seem to be offending a lot of people nowadays.

How strange.

* * *

"What do you mean you're leaving? You can't leave!"

Masaomi raised an eyebrow at my outburst. "It's exactly what it sounds like. I'm leaving on a mission, so I won't be able to train you for a couple of weeks, maybe months. Why do you sound so worried?"

Well, that's probably because you're going to meet the love of your life during your mission, only to be murdered by your own allies who will cover up the entire thing.

Then, you're going to be revived by an insane Devil who's descended from Lucifer himself, and is one of the only three Super Devils in the Underworld, who will send you on a warpath towards the Church.

You're going to end up murdering everyone and anyone who had a part in your and your lover's deaths with a super sword and a pissed off dragon, be given the Protagonist Talk™ and finally, be killed again by the previously mentioned insane Super Devil.

There's no fucking way I can tell him that.

"Uhh... We won't get to train together anymore?" I didn't mean for it to come out as a question but Masaomi ignored it nonetheless.

"It's not like you need it anymore. I've taught you everything I know, all you need to do now is just practice. Hell, I'll even write you some pointers if it means I can finally be rid of you."

"Hey, I take offence to that!"

"That was the point." Masaomi snorted.

I honestly don't know what your future lover see's in a guy like you.

"Keep that attitude up and you'll never find your special someone."

"My faith in the Lord above is enough for me."

"26."

"Huh?"

"You've used that excuse 26 times now. I've been keeping count."

I was given a smack on the head for pointing that out but it was well worth seeing the annoyance on his face. By smacking my head, he just admitted that I got to him.

Hah! I win!

"Alright, time for another beat down."

"Uhh, you mean training, right?"

"Did I stutter?"

"Alright, jeez." I huffed as I grasped the air with my hand. A moment later, a wooden sword materialised in my right hand. Repeating the action, another sword materialised in my left hand as I began to get into my stance. Masaomi had pulled out his own practice swords at the same time as I did.

"Since this is going to be our last session for a while, I want you to show me everything that I've taught you from the beginning." Masaomi ordered. "No spells, no magic items, no magic weapons. Think of it as a final test of sorts."

Well, alright then. If that's the case, I better put my all into this.

"Ah. I forgot to mention that I also won't be holding back."

"Wha-"

That was all I managed to get out before I moved my head to the side, barely managing to dodge the strike aiming for my face. The sheer force behind his swing produced a gust of wind that blew my hair about erratically.

Before I could get my bearings, he was already upon me. His right arm swung down, slamming against both my swords that I had lifted to meet his strike.

'_Heavy_' was my first thought. Masaomi's strikes are never this heavy, not when we're practising. I wasn't able to handle the force behind his swing, and shifted my arms to force his sword to slide down my own.

Now all I need to do is use that small opening to get my own attack in and-

I jumped back almost instantly, my eyes wide and breathing slightly heavy as I stared at my previous spot. The ground had been slightly broken by his swing, creating a small crater at the point of impact. In his hand was a broken weapon, the wood having shattered due to the power behind his strike.

If I had been a second slower...

"Didn't I tell you not to hold back?" Masaomi said calmly as he pulled out another practice sword. "You should know better than to not capitalise on every single opening your opponent creates, not when they could be intentional. I taught you better than that."

...I see. I know what my mistake was.

I'm treating this as another sparring match against Masaomi Yaegaki, the man who has trained me for the last two years, when I should have treated it as a fight against Masaomi Yaegaki the Exorcist. The man who has eliminated all manners of supernatural creatures.

This... is not going to be easy at all.

"Now get ready, I'll be coming at you from the front."

And he did.

I hastily raised my arms, blocking a strike aiming for my waist and left shoulder with both swords before kicking him back. As he went back a couple of steps, I moved forward with him and began a rush of attacks. All of my strikes were met with a parry, blocked with enough strength to reduce the knockback to the lowest levels possible.

I tried jumping back, tried making some space between us, but Masaomi moved forward at the same time I kicked back. He is unrelenting in his assault, his arms a blur as they continue to move forward in their attempt to land a strike.

But I parry every single one of them with graceful movements, each sword gently nudged to the side to avoid hitting me at the last moment. Of course, I'm barely able to keep up with his assault. Never mind the speed at which he's moving, the amount of power he puts in each strike is too much for me to handle.

As I blocked another strike with my left sword, Masaomi lifted his remaining sword into the air. I reversed the position of my right sword so that it was facing the ground and moved my arm forward, guiding his overhead slash along the edge of my wooden sword.

I let my arm continue moving forward, aiming to hit his face with the handle of my sword, when he kicked the back of my leg, forcing me to bend my knee. That single moment was all it took for my left arm to lose its strength as my left sword flew out my hand.

Before I could blink, Masaomi had already moved into my personal zone and raised his right arm, bringing his sword along with it. I tried to parry it but he used his other sword to block my swing. In the end, his speed overwhelmed my own as he delivered a rather nasty strike on my chest, sending me flying back a couple of meters and on the ground.

Damn, I can't breath properly. He knocked the air out of my lungs with that one strike.

"Is that it? You can't even handle two minutes?"

I try responding but can't get anything out. I'm desperately sucking in all the oxygen I can as I try standing back up. Masaomi has the patience to wait for me to stand but he looks angry at my performance.

"Do you think that devils and vampires will put you human body into consideration during a battle? The answer is no, they won't." Masaomi said as he crossed his arms with a scowl on his face. "There's no place for weakness on the battlefield, not when your life and those of your comrades can be taken with the smallest mistake. Now get up, we're going again."

_**Five minutes later...**_

I... think I understand what he's trying to get out of this.

Masaomi is trying to teach me one final lesson before he leaves. Everything that I've been taught, both in my time as Masaomi's apprentice and at the Training Institute, were all human techniques, and that in itself is the problem.

I am a human, one of the weakest races in the world. We don't have powerful bodies or enhanced senses, nor do we have a long lifespan or powerful Magic Cores. Compared to the various races that make up the supernatural, we humans are nothing to them-merely a couple of ants walking about.

So how do we fight against such beings? How do we fight against those who easily surpass our strength, our speed, our magic potential?

With trickery and deceit.

I am a human, a race of creatures that have relied on trickery and deceit since times immemorial to survive against the beings that make up the supernatural world.

I dashed forward at the same time Masaomi did, throwing the sword in my right hand directly at his face. He moved his head to the side, just managing to avoid the thrown sword, but was forced to close his eyes as I threw a handful of dirt I picked up earlier on his face.

Using the two seconds that I had just granted myself, I slammed my remaining sword on Masaomi's right wrist, effectively destroying his grip on his sword. He swung blindly with his other sword but missed as I managed to duck at the last moment, picking up the sword he dropped and thrusting both swords forward.

I hit him in the liver and the right lung, causing him to stagger backwards. I step on his foot, causing him to fall backwards. I've bought myself at least three seconds with that manoeuvre. Now that I've completely broken his stance and balance, I can use this chance to-

I quickly brought my swords together onto my chest in an x-position, blocking his powerful kick. The force of his kick blew me back and in that time, he picked up his sword again.

"Better, much better." Masaomi complimented. "This is how humans fight against monsters. This is how we've survived for so long; by using any means necessary. Pride and honour don't matter when you're dead, and they don't matter to those who believe themselves to be above you. Remember that and you'll survive whatever is thrown your way."

Masaomi relaxed his stance, rolling his shoulders with a groan as he got rid of his sword. "You sure hit hard. What do they feed you at that Institute of yours?"

"Pain, suffering and sermons." I quipped with a tired laugh as I relaxed my own stance, dropping the swords in my hands to rub my chest. "Thank god that's over. I don't think I could have gone on any longer after that."

"Who said it was over?"

That was the last thing I heard before he struck me on the back of my neck.

* * *

Masaomi watched as his apprentice fell to the ground like a puppet who's strings have been cut. The black-haired boy had put up a good fight near the end, that much was certain, but he still has problems with rushing into every opening he makes. That, and he needs to work on detecting malicious intent from his opponents.

Well, that last part can easily be fixed with experience in the field.

"Man, what a little monster I have on my hands." Masaomi groaned as he rubbed his torso with his right hand, namely his lung and liver. While he may have exaggerated the result of Siegfried's strikes, they still hurt like a truck.

Still, he couldn't help but smile fondly at the child who remained unconscious. There was no hesitation in his strikes-exactly what Masaomi wants to see.

_'I guess that's to be expected from a monster I trained.'_

Siegfried is strong, much stronger than Masaomi was at his age. His talent with the sword isn't exactly common among the Exorcists either. Most of them started off as normal humans who were forcefully introduced to the supernatural world, usually due to an attack on their family members or themselves, while the rest were born into it.

Masaomi falls into the former category. His family was killed by a vampire when he was but a child, unable to do anything to save them. He remembered hating himself for a couple of years after that, for not being strong enough to protect them.

Maybe that's why he accepted Siegfried as an apprentice; because he saw a little bit of himself in the young boy who wanted power to protect his family (but he'll never let the brat know about that).

Or maybe it was thanks to the pay he was given by the Vatican after a small chat with Cardinal Strada.

Either way, it all works out in the end. Siegfried gets trained, Masaomi gets paid and the Church gains a powerful exorcist. Everybody's happy.

With a small grunt, Masaomi picked up Siegfried and hefted him onto his shoulder, carrying him like a sack of potatoes as he made his way back to the Sigurd Institute.

If he's lucky, he'll be able to leave before that terrifying kid shows up. What was her name again... Lint Sellzen?

* * *

"But I don't understand _why_ it had to be him when there are lots of other dual-wielding Exorcists!"

"Because he's one of the best." I answered Lint for what felt like the tenth time, "And he's the only one who makes time for me. The rest are either busy with their own work or stationed in another country."

It's been a week since my final training session with Masaomi. He's already left on his mission, doing who knows what in Kuoh right now. He never gave me the specifics on the mission, only that he needs to investigate something going on.

I managed to have one final conversation with him before he had left. It was mostly a lecture on areas I need to improve on and tips that I could use to help with my training, but I also got him to agree to be extra careful during his mission and made him promise to come back alive under the guise that I still need to beat him up.

Hopefully it will be enough for him to try and escape with his life, at least more harder than he did in the original story.

"But there _are_ others, so it doesn't have to be him." Lint huffed as she crossed her arms. I looked to Freed for help but he just shrugged in a "What can you do?" manner.

"Is it really that bad?" Lint swerved her head towards the origin of such blasphemy with a scowl while Jeanne smiled back. "I think that they're perfect for each other."

"Hah!? Are you stupid or what? They don't suit each other at all!" Lint defended as she slammed her hands on the table. I grabbed my bottle before it could fall over while Freed held his tray down. In the face of Lint's annoyance, Jeanne's smile just widened.

"Hmm? I think that you're wrong. I also think that Freed would suit him as well, don't you think so?"

"Don't test me, Maiden!"

"Please don't involve me in this." Freed muttered.

Before I could stop the situation from escalating any further, Lint threw a meatball at Jeanne. Rather than attempt to dodge the meatball like anyone else would have done and most likely fail in the process due to the speed of the meatball and how close it was, Jeanne took the one possible route that would serve to annoy Lint more than she already had.

Freed and I watched with raised eyebrows as Jeanne displayed an amazing show of reaction time and caught the meatball. The same meatball that was _right in front of her face._

""What.""

Jeanne seemed to preen under the awe she could feel emanating from Freed and I.

"Come's with the perk of being a Holy Maiden."

Was that the Maiden of Orleans at work? Because if it was, the higher ups would be frothing at the mouth knowing that their precious little Maiden was using the experience of a deceased Joan of Arc to catch flying meatballs.

Freed looked down at his own plate, specifically at the four meatballs calmly sitting there, before turning to look at me with the most serious face I've ever seen before.

I narrowed my eyes.

"Don't you-"

I tried, I really did, but I couldn't replicate the miracle that Jeanne had made a moment ago. And so, the meatball had left his plate and made contact with my face, namely my forehead. The meatball fell with a dull thud and rolled off the table, landing on the ground and rolling a bit further before stopping for good.

"Why." was all I could ask.

"I wanted to test your reactions." Freed answered nonchalantly, shrugging his shoulders as my hand found itself reaching for my plate. "I hope that you take this lesson to heart and-"

That was all he managed to get out before four of my meatballs slammed into his face.

* * *

**=[The Ward]=**

Xenovia Quarta was feeling a bit nervous as she walked through the large corridors of the Saint Mary Training Institute.

She worked hard to get a place in the institute, to be trained as a warrior of the Church. This is what she was practically raised for. While the methods may have been... _questionable_, let it not be said that Griselda Quarta isn't a good teacher.

Now if only she knew how to separate her work life from her personal life...

The walk though the halls of the Institute was mainly a quiet one, the students seemingly having disappeared. She expected the building to be more busy to be honest. Maybe she came in when they were closed?

Preposterous. They can't be closed, not when they're training warriors who will defend humanity!

Xenovia shook her head, banishing the thought out of her mind and stared forward. The double doors at the end of the corridor lead to the cafeteria, where she could hear various sounds coming from.

Ah, of course. She couldn't find the trainees because they were currently eating lunch. Now it makes sense.

Now that she knew where they all were, she felt herself falter a little bit as her hand hesitated to move forward. What if they didn't like her? She heard that boys and girls her age will bully those who are different. Her blue hair already makes her stand out compared to her fellow trainees; doesn't that make her different? Will she be bullied?

No, of course not. They're all brothers and sisters, children of God and family don't bully each other. Why should she be afraid of her fellow children of God? What a silly thought.

The blue haired girl took a deep breath, held her chest high and pushed the double doors open, ready to meet her fellow warriors in training.

And what she saw made her pause in her tracks.

"They attacked us when we had our backs turned!" a boy cried out to the crowd from where he was perched, atop a large heap of lunch tables. "They could not face us as equals so they resort to dirty manoeuvres! What does that make them!?"

"COWARDS!" her brothers and sisters roared out together as a collected voice.

"And what do we do to cowards!?"

"CRUSH THEM!"

"That's right! We crush them with our unrivalled strength! We crush them with our unparalleled might!" the boy continued to rally the crowd-_no_, the _army_ of exorcist trainees.

Xenovia didn't know how to feel. On the one hand, nobody looked like they would bully her. On the other, she was about to witness a war in the making. Perhaps she should just turn around before things got out of hand...

"Hmm? A late arrival?" the boy zoned in on her location, bringing with him the collected attention of battle-hungry children. "No matter. Can you use a sword?"

Xenovia found herself nodding her head, earning a pleased look from the boy. "Then hurry up and take your place, I'm assigning you to my Baguette Squad."

Before she knew it, she was stood behind the boy who had inducted her into his private army of baguette-wielding warriors of God.

"Potato Platoon, ready your mashed potatoes! Custard Corps, prepare your custard cakes! Banana Troopers, peel your bananas! Today, we will leave this lunchroom as the victors of this grand skirmish and become immortalised as legends in the _Lunchroom Epic_!" the boy raised his baguette into the air and towards the other end of the cafeteria. "CHARGE!"

The army of trainees let out a war cry as they left their stronghold, entering the middle ground where the final battle would take place. At the other end of the cafeteria, there was an opposing army of children coming their way with a war cry of their own.

Xenovia honestly didn't know what was happening anymore, but the boy who seemed to be their leader clearly placed his trust in her. Nobody had ever trusted her with anything before, always saying that she destroys everything, yet this boy trusted her even though he didn't know anything about her.

Xenovia mentally placed the boy on higher ranking than most people she knew. To honour the trust he placed in her, she would give it her all!

The two opposing sides crashed into each other in a glorious explosion of various dairy products, carbohydrates, fruits and vegetables and more. There were already a couple of casualties on their side but the same could be said of the enemy.

The boy turned his head to the right, gaining the attention of a blonde haired girl. "Jeanne! Deploy the mash potatoes! Mix in some pieces of tuna as well!"

"On it!"

He then turned the other way, having to look for his target. His eyes widened as he locked on to a golden-haired, male trainee. "Nero! Peel those bananas and get to the salad bar! They're putting pressure on us over there!"

"You got it boss!" the now-named Nero responded with a wild grin, turning around to the mentioned Banana Troopers. "You heard him, brothers and sisters! Let's peel those bananas and go!"

"Baguette Squad! Regroup with the Custard Corps in the centre! We're going to break through their ranks in a single charge! ON ME!"

He was met with a cry of affirmation as the two mentioned groups began to make their way forward, right into the thick of the battle.

At this point, Xenovia was beginning to have fun. Whatever nervousness she had previously felt had all but been washed away, replaced with a burning desire for victory. With every mistake she made, one of her fellow warriors saved her at the last moment. With every swing of her mighty baguette of destruction, the enemy soldiers fell one by one.

"BAKED BEANS INCOMING!" one of her allies suddenly cried out the warning. Xenovia looked up and, true to their words, baked beans began to fall from the sky like angry missiles.

"PICK UP A LUNCH TRAY AND FORM A SHIELD!"

Xenovia quickly lowered herself to the ground, picking up one of the many lunch trays on the floor and lifting it above her head. More and more of her allies repeated the action, forming a singular, yet wide-spread barrier.

She could feel the impact of the baked beans on the barrier, her arms slightly giving out. The assault continued for a good five seconds before her arms stopped trembling from the impact.

"NOW! WHILE THEY'RE FOODLESS, ATTACK!" the boy-_their glorious leader!_-ordered as he charged forward, followed by the entirety of their army. The enemy, seeing as how they had no other choice, were forced to do the same as they picked up whatever they could find.

Xenovia crashed into one of the enemy, an older student with black hair and brown eyes and took him down as quickly as possible with a baguette to the stomach. She didn't waste any time in moving on and rushing through the enemy ranks, resembling a train running over a large bundle of weeds.

She rushed forward, thrusting her baguette at an enemy right in the stomach, forcing him to crumple down onto the ground, before ducking and just managing to avoid the swing that would have hit her head. Xenovia turned around to greet her attack with a baguette to the face, forcing him away from her before tackling him to the ground to finish the job.

"FREED!" "SIEG!"

Xenovia turned her head to see her now named leader, Sieg, taking on the enemy leader known as Freed. Now that she got a proper look, isn't her leader the rumoured Dragonslayer? Her leader is the Dragonslayer!?

This day just keeps on getting better and better!

"I always knew it would end this way!" Leader-_The Second Dragonslayer!_-growled, baguette pushing against baguette.

"Yes, with me beating you once and for all!" Freed returned, pushing his baguette forward and taking the initiative to attack. Their battle swept them away from Xenovia's position, forcing them out of her sight.

A part of her wanted to chase after them, to give support to her leader, but she would trust her leader to win just as he trusted her with this baguette! With that thought in mind, Xenovia jumped back into the fight with a mad grin on her face.

She tore her way through the enemy with nothing but her trusty baguette, steadily decreasing their numbers. All that training with Griselda had certainly paid off as she took the brunt of another attack to her side, shaking it off as nothing but a minor inconvenience.

She soon found herself facing a young girl her own age, with black hair and red eyes similar to her leader's. While she would have wanted to get along with another girl, and maybe even become friends, she found herself blocking a strike from the girl.

"You're good." the girl complimented.

"So are you." Xenovia returned.

That was all she said before engaging once again, their baguettes crashing against each other with enough strength to break lesser men. The enemy girl was the first to break the deadlock, shifting her baguette to the side and sliding Xenovia's baguette down her own.

Xenovia, finding herself with no other choice, chose to back off lest she get a baguette to the face. Regaining her bearings, she charged forward with multiple thrusts, finding each one of her thrusts directed to the sides and barely avoiding the girl.

Switching up her game plan, Xenovia placed both hands on her baguette and swung it horizontally, the strength of her swing forcing her opponent to duck rather than block it again. Seeing a chance, Xenovia strode forward and used the centrifugal force generated by her swing to spin her body around, increasing the power of her next strike and-

"_What is going on here?_"

**Runtime Error!  
****Program: C\Human\ExorcistTrainee\XenoviaQuarta**  
**This application has requested the Runtime to terminate it in an unusual way.**  
**Please contact the application's support team for more information.**

Due to freezing up on the spot in the middle of her attack, the baguette in her hands slid out of her grasp and flew towards an unlucky trainee who happened to turn around at the wrong moment.

Every single warrior on the battlefield froze in their tracks, their eyes widened with horror. The Baguette Squad stopped half-swing, the Banana Troopers slowly re-peeled their bananas and the Custard Corps dropped their bowls of custard to the ground.

Xenovia knows that voice.

She knows that voice _very_ well.

"A food fight? I see..." Griselda Quarta narrowed her eyes before turning back around to closed the cafeteria doors. Every trainee present felt a shiver travel down their backs as they heard the lock click, and at that moment, they had never felt more afraid for their lives.

'_We're dead_' was the collective thought of every single trainee in the cafeteria.

"So be it." Griselda chuckled darkly, a dark gleam in her eyes as she stared down the exorcist trainees. "_Class is now in session._"

* * *

**EDIT**

**Some of you are wondering what Nothung, Tyrfing and Dainsleif look like. Since most people are having a hard time picturing the three swords, I decided to just quickly change their appearances.**

**Nothung now looks like Elucidator, Dainsleif looks like Dark Repulser and Tyrfing looks like the Tyrfing from Final Fantasy XIV.**

**Hope that helps.**

* * *

**And that's another chapter finished.**

**Quite a lot happened this chapter: Sieg talks with his swords: Masaomi has gone on his mission to Kuoh: Valper was stopped before he could kill all the Holy Sword project victims: Jeanne unlocked her Sacred Gear and more.**

**Moving on, Sieg has changed canon once again! By bringing up Valper to Vasco, we now have five survivors rather than the two in the original timeline. Two of them are canon characters while the last survivor will be an OC, and all three of them will be introduced later on in the story.**

**And what did you all think about the final scene? It was inspired by the food fight scene from RWBY along with a twist of my own. Due to the manner in which Xenovia and Siegfried met each other, I think it's safe to say that she's going to have a lot of respect for him.**

**Next chapter will start off with a time skip where they'll have already finished their training at the institute. ****I'll be showcasing the abilities and powers that they worked hard for during that time, so you'll all finally get to see the five Demon Swords in action.**

**The graduating group will all be 14 years old and by the time canon starts, Siegfried will be 19 years old. Just thought I should throw that out to the readers who wanted to know his age.**

**And some of you seem to be getting the wrong idea about the harem. When I said that Issei's harem will consist of the original members, I meant that it's will contain Rias, Akeno and Koneko, the Big Three. Anyone else after that is pretty much fair game.**

**I suppose it's my fault you all thought otherwise, sorry about that.**

**I'm feeling more tired than usual so I won't be answering reviews today.**

**See you all next time.**


	8. Life Is A Cruel Mistress

**Disclaimer: I do not own Highschool DxD or any of the references found in this story, nor am I making any profit from this story. All original Highschool DxD characters and references belong to their rightful owners, I just own the original characters and concepts that I have created myself.**

* * *

**[The Holy Maiden - Jeanne L'Ange]**

Jeanne cut her seventeenth undead human in half from the waist with Excalibur Blessing, turning around and moving to the next target without missing a beat.

Another slash, another undead human falls.

Blood, bones, entrails, brain matter. Everything that should stay inside of the human body litters the surrounding area, painting the entire ground with a disgusting red.

She decapitated another undead human, a young man only three or four years older than him. His body fell to the ground with a dull thud, slowly burning in the meanwhile.

Undead are created after a vampire bits a human who has a low tolerance to their species. Undead are usually made up of mundane members of humanity but there have been cases where an exorcist became an undead as well. Thus, it is heavily advised to not let them bite you, hence you join their ranks.

However, they aren't a threat on their own. Their biggest strength comes from their large numbers that can easily rush you. The basic strategy against undead is to pick them off in small groups by separating them using yourself as bait, though this only works if you have a partner working with you.

Jeanne noted that there was a rather large group of undead coming her way, and before she could react, her partner had acted for her.

"Be our protection against the wickedness and snares of the devil!"

A golden circle sprung to life, hanging above them in the sky as it spun madly.

"May God rebuke him, we humbly pray; And do thou, O Prince of the Heavenly Host, by the power of God, thrust into hell Satan and all evil spirits who wander through the world for the ruin of souls! Amen!"

Golden light was released from the sigil, bathing the entire area in a warm aura.

At the same time, Excalibur Blessing had reacted to the power of God's System and empowered its effect on both herself and the Undead. Jeanne could feel herself grow stronger, more faster and durable. Meanwhile, the Undead had been stopped in their tracks, their legs having turned to ash due to taking the full force of a Holy Sacrament.

Jeanne flashes a thumbs up.

"Thank you Svan! I knew I could count on you!"

"O-of course you can count on me! This much is nothing for me!"

Jeanne stuck her hand into the air, hand grasping the air, and produced three thin, rapier-like swords between her fingers. If she remembers correctly, Sieg had called them "Black Keys" when they were experimenting with her Blade Blacksmith. A strange name in Jeanne's opinion but Sieg had the naming right since it was his idea.

They were Holy Swords meant to be thrown rather than wielded, and their small size made it easy to carry a large amount of them. They could also be powered with magic easy activation requirements also suited someone with low magic reserves such as his own.

Jeanne steadied herself, focusing her aim, and threw the swords at the incoming undead. All three swords found all three undead, piercing through their heads and lodging them into the wall behind. Their bodies soon became limp, like puppets with their strings cut.

Jeanne felt something shift behind her and turned around, only to duck under the swiping hand of an undead woman. She created a Holy Sword from below the undead, piercing through her body and neutralising her. She hung on the sword, arms wildly lashing out, until her erratic movements slowly calmed down.

That was the final undead human in this area. Relaxing her stance, the girl leaned against a wall gathering her breath, surrounded by mounds of burning corpses that used to be human beings.

"Are you alright?" Svan asked as she made her way towards the blonde girl.

The air was still thick with the pungent odour of blood, of death. Corpses had been strewn about everywhere during the skirmish, and Jeanne had noticed during the skirmish that the bodies of the Undead were horribly mutilated before they were put down for good. None of the villagers were killed quickly before their unfortunate transformations; it was easy to see that their suffering was prolonged.

"Yeah!" Jeanne nodded with a smile. "This much is nothing! I can do this all day!"

Svanhild didn't seem to believe her but accepted her answer anyway.

In truth, Jeanne was not alright at all. Being forced to fight against undead humans who happened to be in the wrong place at the wrong time had taken its toll on Jeanne, not physically but mentally.

She knew this was going to happen at some point but it didn't make it any easier to accept.

Though it made her feel a bit better knowing that she would soon turn the perpetrator into a Holy Sword pincushion.

* * *

**[The Innocent Monster - Freed Sellzen]**

_"Why do you bother playing with these humans? I've seen you for what you truly are."_

_"Do not compare me to you, you monster."_

_"You're just as much of a monster as I am!"_

As he walked through the hallways of the Vatican, that final conversation kept playing itself in Freed's head over and over again. It plagues his thoughts, keeps him distracted from whatever he does.

But what if that vampire was right? What if he _is_ the same kind of monster?

No.

No!

Freed refuses to believe what that damn vampire spouted! He is nothing like that _thing_!

He has Sieg, Lint and Asia! He has Rion and Riel! Even Jeanne has become a close friend of his! If he were a monster, they would never have reached out to him! Never have accepted him! They would never have been able to change him!

Freed feels happy when he's with them. Not that twisted form of happiness he felt when he cut down that stray vampire, when he ri**p**p**e**d hi**s l**im**bs** fr**o**m his **bo**dy a**n**d **p**ierc**ed** t**h**r**o**u**gh** hi**s** **h**e**ad** w**it**h h**i**s **sw**or**d**, **sl**i**c**e**d h**i**m** t**o** **pi**e**c**es **an**d b**u**r**nt** h**im t**o as**h-**

Freed felt sick when he felt his mouth twitched upwards, and bit on his lower lip to the point of drawing blood.

Why?

Why does he feel like this? Why must he constantly question his own existence?

Why does he have to suffer in such a manner?

Why him?

_**'Isn't that obvious by now? It's because you're a monster.'**_

Freed didn't even bother reacting outwardly, having been all but used to the voice by now.

**'Why do you still fight against it? There's no going against your own nature, you know? It would be so much easier for you to just accept yourself as you are.'**

_'Never. I will continue to reject that notion for as long as I exist.'_

**'You would continue to reject yourself? That will lead to nothing but a life of misery. You'll be wearing a fake mask for as long as you live, hiding your true face from your friends and family.'**

_'...'_

**'You realise this, don't you? You cannot live your life in such a way, hiding yourself away from those you care about. At some point, they will prod deeper and deeper until they finally realise what you truly are.'**

_'Shut up.'_

**'And once they see you for the monster you are, how will they react? Will it be disappointment? Maybe disgust? Perhaps anger?'**

_'_Shut. Up._'_

**'And when they do, you will have nothing to hide yourself with. You will be unmasked, and the world to see an ugly monster that thrives on the suffering of others. Because that is what you are, all that you ever have been and ever will be.'**

"Freed?"

Freed looked up and met the eyes of Asia Argento.

"Asia."

Freed tried smiling, and the blonde-haired girl returned the smile as she strode forward with a small bounce in her step.

"Are you the only one here, or did Sieg come back as well?"

"It's just me as far as I know. Rion has already gone back to the Institute, and Sieg only left earlier today."

Asia's smile widened even further as she took hold of his wrist and turned back around. "Then there's something I want to show you, hurry up and come with me!"

_**'That smile is wasted on a monster like you.'**_

Freed ignored the voice in the back of his head as he was led through the halls by the energetic blonde. His mouth was stretched into a _real_ smile as he made small talk with Asia along the way.

_**'She will reject you when she see's you for what you truly are.'**_

"And that was when Father Strada and I decided that I should also train!" Asia finished with a grin, looking into Freed's eyes for approval. "What do you think?"

"It's a good idea. Not many people can be trained by Cardinal Strada of all people." Freed's smile turned a little forced at his next thought, "But you'll probably have to train under Sister Quarta if you enrol through the Training Program."

"She can't be that bad, can she?"

"Rion would cry himself to sleep whenever he had Combat Training the next day."

"T-that not really enough to-"

"Lint still has nightmares. _I_ still have nightmares."

"N-now you're just exaggerating-"

"Sieg will have a panic attack if you use "Griselda Quarta" and "Training" in the same sentence."

"...that bad?"

Freed nodded grimly.

"_That bad_."

The girl deflated slightly but there was still a fire in her eyes, and Freed couldn't help but laugh; Lint had the exact same eyes on her first day and she came back the quietest she had ever been. Even Riel didn't actively mess with her due to having been in the same state at the time.

Strangely, the thought of Asia being brought to that level made something inside of him roar, and it wasn't the voice this time.

Huh.

* * *

**[The Successor - Siegfried]**

Man, time sure flies by quickly when you're a hero descendent training to become a child soldier-_exorcist, I meant exorcist_.

A lot has happened these last two years. I've begun working together with Svanhild in regards to magic; she understands all magic related problems much better than I do. In fact, her magic power dwarfs my own at this point, and she's still not reached her limit like I have. That's why I decided it would be a good idea to ask her for help, and help me she did.

I still haven't overcome my limit with rune magic though. Actually, both of us are stuck at the same place in regards to rune magic at the moment, no matter how much she denies it. At my current level, I'm still nowhere near the level where I can be called a master, but I know enough to put up a good fight.

There's also my swordsmanship that's leapt my bounds thanks to Ewald. We would hold sparring sessions every now and again, and he would correct my posture and any mistakes I made during the spar.

It's been a lot of help since Masaomi left.

Masaomi. Now that's a can of worms I would rather leave unopened.

It was a year after he had been deployed to Japan, most likely Kuoh, when we had gotten word about his crime of falling in love with a devil. The Vatican had responded by sending their exorcists to "correct" that mistake.

And the result?

Masaomi Yaegaki and Cleria Belial are currently considered strays.

Not _dead_. Strays.

He's alive. Masaomi is alive.

I don't know what happened, and I might never know, but Masaomi managed to survive the attack on Cleria and himself, and escaped from their pursuers.

For the next couple of days after that, passing exorcists or sisters would give me looks of pity or give me their condolences.

None of them knew how happy I was-_how relieved I was_-to hear that Masaomi Yaegaki had been excommunicated and designated as a stray exorcist. To hear that they would have to hunt down a heretic who is very much still alive_._ I have enough trust in his skills to know that he won't die easily, and he has the support of a High-class Devil. Surely that means for something?

Of course, it does make me a little bit sad knowing that he won't ever come back. The church will never accept him again after what he did and I doubt the devils will accept Cleria after she got together with an exorcist.

I hope that one day, I'll be able to find him if only to see how he's doing. We technically shouldn't be seen anywhere near each other except for him being on the other end of my Demon Swords.

In regards to training, I was mainly practising on my proficiency with the five Demon Swords. I've been working on magic and physical conditioning as well but not as much as practising on how to use the abilities of Gram, Balmung, Dainsleif, Tyrfing and Nothung.

Every night I go to sleep, Gram and Balmung synchronise their own memories with my own, allowing me to see everything that they had seen.

And what I saw was breathtaking.

It wasn't because I saw the moment of their creation, nor was it because I saw the adventures they had went on with their wielders.

It was because I saw Sigurd and Siegfried themselves, and they were _absolute monsters_.

I never even knew that humans could reach that level of strength. Their strength, speed, technique, endurance. Everything about them completely dwarfed what I had seen in this world. Even Vasco Strada in his prime wouldn't have been able to touch them if what I saw wasn't a hallucination.

Sigurd, before consuming the heart of Fafnir, was a handsome man with short black hair and grey, steel-like eyes. It was only after eating Fafnir's heart, inheriting his knowledge in the process, had his hair and eyes shifted to a bright gold and red respectively.

He was a master swordsman at first but dabbled with runes after his meeting with the original Brynhildr. His skills with his runes were on a whole other level. He mixed it together with his swordsmanship in ways I didn't even think were possible. With his absurd talent in both magic and swordsmanship, he was a man that most would be hard pressed to face against, let alone win against him.

Meanwhile, Siegfried was an extremely handsome man with brown hair that fell to his back and piercing green eyes. After bathing in Fafnir's blood, his hair and eyes also changed to the same gold and red that Sigurd obtained, but his skin had tanned in addition.

He was a powerful warrior in his own right but was not as skilled as Sigurd in magic. In fact, he couldn't use magic at all. All he had was Balmung and his own skills to fight with. Left with only a single decision, Siegfried had honed his swordsmanship, his single fang, with a terrifying obsession. Day after day, night after night, he continued to swing his sword without rest. He had gone through countless battles, sharpening his fang with each victory.

And as a result, he had broken through his limits as a human and reached a level that surpassed the gods themselves.

When I saw the strength of these two men, the skills that they had obtained during their lives, it made me feel excited.

They have clearly shown me that humanity is not the weakest race in the world. They just have the hardest time producing powerful beings that can contend with the various powers of the world.

And if humanity could give birth to heroes of such strength and skill, then what about me?

_How far can I go?_

That single thought was what drove me to throw myself at Griselda and fight her every. Single. Day.

It wasn't the best decision but after everything I had seen, it certainly wasn't the worst.

I like to think that I've learnt a lot but I've still got a long way to go before I can fully wield any one of them with full confidence in my abilities. I've already burnt myself multiple times when training with Gram, frozen my leg at least seventy times now, destroyed multiple training rooms, and more.

While I should probably be dead due to my overusing of the Demon Swords', they have already assured me that they would be actively holding back on their curse power. My lifespan will still be taken if I actively use their abilities but if I just wield them like I would any normal sword, then there are no problems.

And that's ignoring the fact that I've lost at least five years of my lifespan by now. I know I should be scared but knowing that Senjutsu is a thing puts me at ease, if only slightly.

I've also been working on a way to circumvent the whole lifespan weakness, just in case I never get my hands on Senjutsu.

After all, if Vali was able to use his demonic power to power his Juggernaut Drive rather than his own lifespan, then why can't I do the same?

It hasn't been easy at all since I'm using my own Mana rather than the demonic power that all devils are born with, and it's only succeeded to a small extent, but the point is that it worked, meaning that it's possible.

At the moment, I can't use my own Mana because using a single sword will completely drain my Mana reserves. That was when I had the idea of using the mana crystals that I created during my magic control training to increase the mana used.

The result? Three crystals worth of Mana offer me a single use of one demon sword's full power.

They never said it would be easy controlling a demonic sword of legend. Hopefully, I'll manage to learn something new by putting my training into practice today.

Right now, I'm in Germany for my first mission. Well, I say mission but this is just a test that also happens to be a mission.

The Sigurd Institute want to test my skill with the Demon Swords, as well as their effectiveness against our sworn enemies. Thus, I was sent on a simple elimination mission to get rid of a stray devil that's holed itself up in Baden, Germany. It's a C-rank threat level, or a low-class devil in the Underworld's terms. There have already been multiple casualties-missing townspeople-so the church have decided to send someone to end the threat.

There were no problems that the higher-ups could see, so they had accepted the Sigurd Institute's request and sent me with my Swords, my combat outfit and a white cloak.

Speaking of outfits, I didn't have to modify mine because luckily for me, the male exorcist outfit is a lot more normal than the female variant.

The male outfit consists of a black, skin-tight body armour that has no sleeves and is flexible, black pants made of the same material and black combat boots, all adorned with various straps.

Thank god this world was created to highlight the female body.

And the city of Baden sure looks nice. I wish I could spend some time in the city but unfortunately, duty calls. The sun is starting to go down and the townspeople are beginning to go home; the exact time the stray devil should come out of hiding.

The mission details stated that the stray was last sighted in the Black Forest that Baden is known for. The forest is far too big for me to search on my own, and I know better than to walk blindly into enemy territory, but that's where my runes comes in handy.

I picked up a pebble with a flat side off the ground and opened my Magic Core, feeling the warmth in my chest that signalled its activation. Pushing magic into my finger, it began to glow blue until a blue flame was lit on the tip of my finger.

I placed it on the flat side of a pebble and inscribed a certain rune.

**ᛒ**

Berkano, one of the most basic tracking runes there are. By inscribing it onto a pebble and focusing on my target, I can track their location using their connection to the earth below them. It doesn't work if they are shielding themselves using magic or if they're flying through the air, but since this stray devil has no idea that I'm coming after them, there shouldn't be any problems.

The pebble began to glow a bright blue before it tugged my hand towards a certain direction.

Straight into the forest.

...I really don't want to go in there. Going into a dark forest when it's almost night to hunt down a stray devil in its home territory. If that isn't a red flag, then I don't know what is.

But I have five demon swords of legend with me. I also have my Touki, rune magic and four years of practice thanks to the teachers at the training institute. That counts for something, right?

I'm going to go in there, hunt myself a monster, and leave with my limbs intact. I'll fight with my swords and use my rune magic to help. My Touki can protect my body from its attacks, and I'm pretty agile for a human.

I can _do_ this.

I took another look at the forest with a newfound courage.

I guess it's time to be a hero.

* * *

**[The Stray]**

Zalagras considers himself to be a smart devil, smarter than his previous peerage compatriots at the very least.

When he first ran away from his master, the filthy bitch that she was, he had laid low rather than go out on an indiscriminate murder spree as most stray devils did. Thanks to his actions, he had easily escaped the Underworld and made it back to Earth.

His stay on Earth had been less than accommodating, mainly due to the new body he found himself with. Due to his demonic power running rampart inside of him, his body was forced to undergo a transformation to better suit it. The end result was a human torso, arms and head with the lower body of a black spider.

For the next couple of weeks after his transformation, he had travelled quickly and quietly while only stopping to kill one or two humans along the way. In doing so, he created a pattern of murders that seemed like an ordinary murder case to those investigating the scenes left behind. With nobody suspecting a stray devil, he could move about however he wanted without any hindrances from the church or Devil Hunters.

Even now, in his current location, he only killed one or two humans before planning on leaving the city. However, he must have made a mistake somewhere along the line because it would surely explain the exorcist that was hot on his heels.

Zalagras isn't an idiot. He knew that he was being pursued the moment he felt a small application of magic power outside the forest. It was definitely an amateur, otherwise the exorcist would have already been here by now, which meant that this was probably an exorcist straight out of training. Their first mission, most likely.

While he would normally enjoy feasting on humans, Zalagras knew when to call it quits. If he were to kill this exorcist here, he would find himself with a higher Stray Class and more exorcists after him.

_'A shame, really. The smaller ones always taste better when they're-'_

His thoughts were interrupted by the bolt of lightning practically screaming as it flew his way. Zalagras launched himself backwards with all eight of his legs, barely dodging the lightning that pierced through multiple trees, leaving a smouldering hole in each one.

"Stray devil Zalagras of the Dantalion clan," a young voice rang throughout the forest clearing, "formerly Dario Andino of Greek descent before reincarnation into a devil. You have been sentenced to death for your crimes against humanity."

The mere mention of his previous, human name brought up an explosive rage from the bowels of Zalagras' heart. Veins bulged as his fists shook in anger, trying to hold himself back from blindly lashing out at his surroundings, but the demonic power's influence over his mind won out in the end.

"WHERE ARE YOU!? COME OUT AND FACE YOUR DEATH, EXORCIST!"

The following silence only served to further anger the stray.

"YOU DARE-!"

This time, it was a sword that flew at him rather than a lightning bolt. His superior eyesight made out the features of the sword in midair; a long and slender blade with an extremely short hilt that was dyed in red.

Zalagras scoffed at the incoming sword. Does the little exorcist truly believe that this is enough to kill a devil? With that thought in mind, Zalagras lifted one of his legs to swat away the sword like one would a fly.

Which is why he was surprised when, instead of knocking it out of the air, it sank into his skin without resistance.

And then came the burning.

Zalagras howled bloody murder as his leg began to burn from the blessed steel that was trapped in his leg. He quickly made to pull it out of his leg when more swords came flying his way.

Barely able to hold back the insult in his mind, Zalagras decided to wisely dodge the Holy Swords-because what else could they be?-and jumped to the side. The swords pierced the earth with a dull thud and stood straight, hilts pointing towards the sky.

Zalagras wasted no time in removing the Holy Sword from his leg, wincing as he placed his hand on the red hilt. He quickly pulled it out of his limb with a small grunt, throwing it to the side and returning his attention to the matter at hand.

The swords came from above, so that meant the exorcist was currently hiding above the trees. The only problem was that he was constantly on the move, making sure that Zalagras couldn't keep track of his location.

Zalagras found himself forced to constantly jump from one place to another, dodging the swords that would keep honing in on his location. He kept a keen eye on the direction of which the swords came from and began to see a repetitive pattern in their movements. If he's right, then the next sword should come from...

Zalagras jumped forward before suddenly stopping in his tracks, lowered his head and spun his large body with a surprising elegance, easily dodging the dozen swords thrown at him.

Now that he knew which direction the swords would come from, all he needed was to trace it back to its origin and he would find his exorcist.

As he easily read the trajectory of the next sword, his eyes fixed themselves towards a certain direction. A bloodthirsty grin stretched over his face as he made out the faint outline of a human body in the treetops.

He found him!

He charged forward with a newfound purpose, his sharp limbs easily cutting through the bark and sending numerous trees toppling down. He could see the exorcist fall along with the trees, entangled within the large cluster of branches and leaves.

Zalagras almost bounced with joy when he found his attacker glaring at him through his unexpected restraints. He was a young boy with effeminate features, a mop of dark hair and striking red eyes that were currently glaring at him with promised murder.

"Poor little exorcist, whatever will you do now~?" Zalagras sang with a perverse glee as he slowly brought his front limbs forward, enjoying the way the boys chest was rising rapidly.

_'He's afraid~!'_

"I would like to thank you, boy. You see, I was looking for a small snack after my latest meal, and then you appeared not a moment later!" Zalagras chuckled as he impaled the ground harshly with his limbs, an act to scare the boy. After all, humans taste _so_ much better when they're terrified.

The boy didn't reply, choosing to glare at him even harder than before.

Zalagras frowned. It seems that the church have trained this boy rather well if he refuses to show his fear.

_'I guess I'll just eat him now then.'_ Zalagras thought with a disappointed sigh.

He lifted his limb in the air and slammed it into the boys midsection. Blood spurted out in a wild torrent, colouring Zalagras' body a bright red as the light began to fade from the boys eyes.

At least, that was meant to happen.

Zalagras' eyes widened when, rather than blood pouring out of the exorcist's wound, the boys body began to turn into water before falling apart, forming a small puddle below.

An illusion?

_He fell for an illusion!?_

Rage bubbled up from the confines of Zalagras' mind, further enhanced by his demonic power to create an unstoppable monster of wrath, hellbent on slaughtering his quarry in the most violent ways possible.

"Y͜҉̶̵͝O͘͠U҉̵̨͏͞ ̧͏͜L͏͡͡I̧͞T̡̨T̀͘L͏̨͜E̷̡̨̡͏ ҉̴̶B̷͜͟͜͠R̵̡̕Ą̀͜͡T҉̶͢!̧̕͟͞ ̨͘͘͜Ì̴̸̧͠'́̕L̵̶͝L̷̡͞҉͘ ̷̸̴Ķ̧͡I̧̛͢͜L̕͟͢͠͏L҉̵̵͏ ̡͢Ý͠O͏̶̵̢͝U̷͟͠!̸̷͟"

He swung his front limbs as hard as he could, as fast as he could, and toppled multiple trees in an instant. With the remaining remnants of his sanity having left his mind, all that was left was a raging beast with no control over itself.

Zalagras charged through the forest, swinging wildly and cutting down every single tree in the vicinity. It was only for a moment, but he caught the small flash of movement in front of him.

"I͏҉'̶̵́͟V̸͘͢E̕͟҉̨̢ ͠͝Ģ̷͠O͝͝T̴̨̛͘͝ ̧̧́͜͡Y̶͡͞Ơ̶U̡͜͜͢͜ ̴̨̡N̡͠O͘͏͢W̢̡!̸̡"

Zalagras let his jaw fall down and spewed a countless number of spiders from the inside of his mouth. Black Widows, Redback spiders, Yellow Sac spiders, Brown Recluse spiders and more. All manners of poisonous spiders flew out of his mouth and spread themselves throughout the entire area.

"Y̨͜O͏̶̨̨͝U̢̨͘͜ ̢̛͠͠Ć̷̶̢͝A̸̶̡̕Ń̛͠͝ ͟͝R̛͡͡͏U͢͠N̴̸ ̨̕͘͟͞B̷̀U͟͞T̸̛̛͜͡ ͜͡͝Ḿ̛͠Y̨̡̛̕ ̶̧͠Ş̧̛͟͝P̢̛͜I͠͝D̵̛̛́E̷͝R̛͡͡҉S͠҉̧҉ ̢̀W̴̡I̧͠L̷͟͏L̶̛̛͘͜ ̧͜͜͜F̷̢͢͝I̷̡̧͜͡Ǹ̴̵̵D̕҉́ ̷̸͟͡Y̛͟O҉͝U̷͘͘͡͡!̷̷͢͠ ͏̨͞O̡͘͟N̵̨͘͞E̴͟͝͠ ̨̡͟͞B̸͘͞I̶̕͠͝T̵̡̡E҉̸̀́̕ ̸̵̀͡À̡̧̛N̨̧̛͟D͝ ̡̀͟͠Y̵̛͘͟͡Ò́Ų̷̛͟'̴̛͢͡L̸̢͜L̶͘ ̢D̷Į̶È̵҉ ͏҉̵T̸̴̸͘͢H̨̕É̴́̕͝ ̴̡̛M̛̀͟O̴͘͟͞S̴̶͜T̶̷҉ ͠͏̵̴͢P̶̸̛͜͡A͝͠I̕̕N̷̸̡̕F̢́͝͠͡U̵̴̕͡Ļ̷̛ ͝͝D̴̴̨͢E͞҉A̡͜͠͠T̴̛͢͟͠H̸̡̨͘ ̷͢Y̸̷̛̕͞Ơ҉U͠ ͏̸Ç̛̀͡A̡̕͝N̶̨̢ ̴̕͜Ţ̷̸͘͢H͞͠͞Í̴͡Ņ̸K̀ ̕͜O̴̧͟҉͞F̷̧̕͞!̷̢͡,."

The spiders began to spread throughout the forest, combing the area for any signs of life barring Zalagras and their own. It didn't take long until he received a signal from one of his spiders that the human was located.

"Ì̵̕͞ ́̀͠F̛̕͜Ó̧̡͢͞U̕͟͡͝N̕̕D̕ ҉͡Y̶̵͟͝O̡͞͡Ư̧,̀ ̕͏H̡͢͜U͏M̨͘͠A̧̨͘͡Ņ̀̕͡!͞͞ ̴̢̕͜Ḿ̷̨͡͝Y̷͘ ̴̴̧S̸̵̡͝͡P̢̀͡I̧̕͟͢D̢͝Ę̸̨R̸̢̛͢͝S̷͟ ̵̢̕W̴̶̨̡̛I̵̷̧L͢͠L̵͘ ̵͢͜҉P̷̧͘O̢͟͞Į̡͟S̸҉Ó̷͠N̴̶͘ ̸̕Y̴͟O̴͟͞Ú͜͞!̷̢́͢͠ ҉͞T̶̶̴̀͠H́͏E̸͢Y͠͡'̸̡҉҉L̢̕L҉̧̢͘ ͘͏͢͏R͘̕͜Ì̢͜͡P̡͟ ̧̢̕͞͏Y҉̕͢͜͝O̧̕͢͡͠U̢͡͡͞ ̷̨͜͝͏T̡̕͘͠O̴͟͡ ̸̡̨́͢Ṕ̡͘͘͜Í̀͝E͏̨̕C̸̢̛͡͝E҉Ş̶̡̡͢!҉̶̛͝ ̶̧̨̀͟T̴̵́Ŗ̷̷͟͞Y̡̡͜͠ ̨͘N͝O̧͠T҉̸̨͜͜ ͏T͢O̧͏̡̧̕ ͜Ḑ̶̕͞͝I̛͝͠Ȩ̷͜ ̸̢T̴͘͢O͡҉͏̨O̢͟ ͟͟͞Q̶̢͢͢U̶̧̕I̵̵̧͜͢C̢͘҉̧̕K͏̢̨L҉́͏͠Y͟ ҉̷̧̡T̶̵̨̀̕H͡҉̵O̵U̶̕̕͝͡G̴̡̧H̛̛͘,͠҉̴̕ ͝͞I̷̢͏͏ ̸̢́͝͞W̸̸A̡̕̕͢͝N̛͘͝T̀͞҉ ̷̛͘T̡͡Ǫ͝ ̷̶͢͠͡S҉̵̛̀̀Ą͜͏V̶̡́O̷̷U̵̡͢͝R̛͝ ̷̸̛E̶̛͠V̴̵̶͞͡E͏̸́͜Ŕ̢̢͞Y̨̕͏̕ ̴͝͡҉Ļ̴̴͞A̛҉͡Ş̵T͜҉̀͜ ̢M̶͜Ò̧M̴̷̸Ę̛͢N̢̕͢͡T̸͡͏̵͘ ̨̀͟͠Ǫ̨̢̛F̴̶͜͞ ̴̛̕͟Y̢̡̧͝O̧̕͜Ų͘͡R҉҉ ͏̴D̸̴E͏̀̕M̧̡͢͡I̴͏̡́͢S̢͠͠E̷̕!͟͏,.."

Zalagras charged towards the exorcist's location with a newfound strength in his legs, a guttural roar escaping his mouth and echoing throughout the forest the moment he laid eyes on the human who had caused him so much trouble.

The boy was currently fending off his precious spiders using his sword. It was a rather large sword that created a powerful gust of wind with each swing he made. With each swing of his sword, his spiders flew into the trees and died from the impact, only earning him the ire of the devil.

The spiders that managed to get past his sword made an attempt to bite into him but ultimately failed due to the white aura surrounding the exorcist's body. Try as they might, they just couldn't seem to get through that strange aura of his.

The boy noticed him, eyes widened with panic as he lifted the greatsword into the air.

"I̸̶̡͘͞'̵̧V̀͜͞È̵ ́́̕͟͡G̴͘͟͞O͏͟T̶͘͡͠ ̨҉͡͞Y̛Ǫ̵̛͟U͠͝ ̢̧͟Ņ͠O̸̧҉͏W̴̴̧͞!̴̡̛"

The devil pounced.

"Balmung!"

The sword was swung.

_'Huh?'_

And Zalagras found himself staring at the sky.

As he hung in the air, he found himself surrounded by every single one of his spiders, all flailing about in the air. There were also sticks and stones flying around him.

And boulders.

_ And trees._

In fact, the entire surrounding area seemed to have been blown up into the sky.

For a moment, it felt as if the whole world stopped moving.

Then came the descent.

Zalagras fell back down to the earth with a grunt, his devil body unfazed by the impact. It was only when the boulders and trees fell atop him did he actually scream out in pain.

The whole area was covered by a massive heap of stones, trees, clods of earth and one spider devil. All of Zalagras' spiders were killed when the trees fell down on them, crushing and reducing them to a mere stain on the ground.

_'What kind of sword was that!?'_

It took everything Zalagras had to just stand up, broken as his body was. His limbs trembled under the weight of his body and he was forced to grab onto an uprooted tree for support.

He was brought to this state by a human!? A devil such as himself!?

His rage had reached an entirely new level, turning into a controlled, yet calm blood lust. However, his demonic power reacted accordingly to his emotions and brought out the worst of himself. His body began to mutate even further, slowly losing whatever part of his body resembled a human.

If he stopped for a single moment and paid attention to his surroundings-if he had noticed the exorcist change weapons and lift a new sword into the air, he would have realised just what was about to become of him.

"Tyrfing!"

A flash of light.

And Zalagras howled in agony.

The moment the sword was swung, a wave of absolute destruction steamrolled towards him, destroying everything and anything that stood in its path.

The trees were stripped of their leaves and toppled over from the sheer force of destruction generated by that sword. The ground was reduced to a paste, the trees were reduced to sawdust, the stones were reduced to dust, and great clods of soil and dirt were ripped away from the ground.

And Zalagras was hit by the wave at full force, smashing into every single tree in his path and breaking them to pieces. Splinters bit into his skin, branches impales his limbs, stones battered his body, dirt blinded his eyes. Everything was hurting and he couldn't stop it.

He had finally stopped in his path when his limp body slammed into a large boulder, almost shattering and breaking through it in the process. The wave had also died down, to the level of a gentle force that pushed against his body. His muscles twitched from the pain, blood pouring from cuts all over his body. All eight of his legs were broken, the bones all but shattered, and he couldn't even utter a single word.

At that moment, Zalagras' body was broken beyond repair.

Yet it was not enough for the exorcist.

"Dainsleif!"

_'Another weapon!?'_

A flash of blue light travelled towards Zalagras at a frighting speed. The moment it came into contact with his battered body, the surrounding air began to rapidly cool down, slowing down Zalagras' faint movements to the point where he couldn't move at all.

Ice began forming around his body, starting at the bottom. His eight legs were frozen in place with a thick layer of ice that rapidly moved up towards the remnants of his human body, freezing his fingers, stomach, chest and shoulders. Zalagras tried to break free but there isn't much one can do against a temperature of absolute zero.

Just as the ice was about to move towards his head, it stopped in its tracks. The blue light surrounding his body had faded out of existence, returning to the blade of the sword wielded by the exorcist.

Zalagras snarled as the exorcist calmly walked forward, sheathing his ice sword and pulling out _another_ sword. It wasn't the greatsword from earlier, that much was obvious, but it also wasn't a Holy Sword of any kind. In fact, the power that was wafting around the sword seemed... demonic?

"And that is that we call checkmate." the boy said with a smug smile plastered on his face.

Zalagras wanted to kill the boy so badly but he knew when he was beat. His rage got the better of him and now he was trapped in a powerful layer of ice as a result. The fact that he lost to a child only infuriated him but he wouldn't let the boy know that; it would only make him feel like he lost in more ways than one.

"What are you waiting for!? Just hurry up and kill me!" Zalagras growled at the boy, even going so far as to try spitting on him.

Pride. Something that all devils embody, reincarnated or otherwise, and his pride refused to allow the boy to see him as weak. He wouldn't give in, not even when faced with his death.

Zalagras knows that he will die after today, but his pride also refuses to allow him to die alone, which is why he would at least take this body down with him, frozen or not.

The boy raised his new sword and charged forward, and Zalagras used that moment to enact his final attack.

He called upon the remnants of his demonic power, the wild and destructive energy of his devil soul, and willed for it to destroy _everything_.

A suicide attack. He would create an explosion using his own body as a key ingredient to destroy this entire area, along with himself and the exorcist before him. Everything would be consumed by the demonic power, leaving nothing behind but a massive, smouldering crater.

"IT'S MY WIN, EXORCIST!" Zalagras sported a bloodthirsty grin as the boy's sword swung down. As soon as the sword would make contact with his body, he would detonate and take the exorcist with him!

Which is why Zalagras couldn't help but let out a small "Hah?" when the sword phased right through his body, leaving him unharmed.

"You think I can't feel your demonic power when you're flaring it for the whole world to sense?" the boy remarked with a scoff. "I think you'll find that I am quite familiar with demonic power and how it feels. I knew what you were planning on doing the moment I felt your demonic power acting up inside your body. Suicide bombing? Really? Try something more original."

But Zalagras wasn't listening to the boy. In fact, the boys words didn't even register in his mind.

Because his mind was cleared.

The moment the sword phased through his body, Zalagras found himself with the ability to think clearly again. The demonic power that had polluted his mind was all but gone, the connection cut away thanks to that strange sword the exorcist used.

He opened his mouth to say something, only to close it a second later.

He blinked a couple of times, staring into thin air with open disbelief.

His eyes widened.

_And then he remembered everything._

* * *

The moment I felt his demonic power act up, I used Nothung's ability of selective cutting to slice through his demonic power, destroying its connection with him. I was only meant to stop him from blowing himself up to take me with him.

The moment his attempt of murdering me failed, I had expected more of the pride that devils are so well known for. I expected insults to be thrown at me, or a glare trying to bore holes into my head.

I didn't expect the wail.

Why is he crying?

Why is he begging for forgiveness?

The sword in my hand felt heavier as the seconds passed, as the reincarnated devil before me continued to blubber like a child.

"_I'm sorry! I'm so sorry! Please forgive me! I'm sorry!_"

The tears didn't stop falling at all, not even a little. In fact, it only increased in intensity as time passed, and I felt my drive to kill the stray slowly beginning to fade away.

"_I didn't want to do it! I couldn't control myself! I'm sorry! Forgive me! I'm so sorry!_"

He wasn't apologising to _me_. He wasn't asking _me_ to forgive him.

He was apologising to the people he killed, asking for _their_ forgiveness.

This isn't the devil I was told to kill. This isn't Zalagras the stray devil anymore. This is someone who has realised their actions and deeply regrets it.

This is Dario Andino, the human turned devil who has realised just what he has become.

And it was only possible because-

_Because I severed his connection with his demonic power._

I forced him to realise what he did in his maddened state. I forced him to recount every single memory he made as a stray devil.

This is bad. My arms are beginning to tremble and I'm slowly lowering my sword.

I'm hesitating to kill him.

No!

He's a stray devil, isn't he!? He killed his master and peerage members, and ran away! It doesn't matter if he regrets his actions, not when he did this to himself-!

"You! Exorcist! You came to kill me right!?"

"Wha-"

"I can't live anymore, not after what I've done! Please kill me!"

Don't do that! Don't look at me with those eyes and ask me to kill you!

"I'm a devil aren't I!? I'm a devil that's killed humans wherever I went, and it's _your_ job as an exorcist to kill me!"

That's right! Why am I hesitating!? Just cut him down right now and this will all be over!

I tightened my hold on Nothung, a grimace on my face as I raised the sword into the air. All I have to do now is swing it down and it will all be over. That's all I have to do. It's simple. Just one clean cut and he dies.

This is it.

I'm about to kill him.

I'm going to swing my sword and kill him!

He's going to die!

So why...

Why does he look so happy?

1) Don't hesitate in front of a devil.  
2) Don't show weakness to a devil.  
3) Take the best opportunity you see to kill a devil.

Those were the three main rules we were taught in regard to combating stray devils. As long as we follow those three rules, we wouldn't die an early death.

So why am I already breaking all three of them?

Why can't I kill him!?

"Why are you hesitating!?"

_'Because I-'_

"Why are you giving me time to fight back!?"

_'Because this is-'_

"This is the best opportunity you'll get you know!? Why won't you kill-!"

"SHUT THE FUCK UP!" I screamed at the top of my voice, personal control be damned. "HOW DO YOU EXPECT ME TO JUST KILL YOU AFTER ALL THAT!?"

Don't hesitate in front of a devil.

"WHEN YOU CRIED FOR THE LIVES YOU TOOK WHEN YOU WEREN'T IN CONTROL!"

Don't show weakness to a devil.

"WHEN BEGGING THE PEOPLE YOU'VE ALREADY KILLED TO FORGIVE YOU!"

Take the first opportunity you see to kill a devil

"HOW THE FUCK DO EXPECT ME TO JUST IGNORE ALL OF THAT AND KILL YOU!? I CAN'T DO THAT!** I CAN'T FUCKING DO THAT!**"

I had prepared myself for this moment ever since I was born in this world. I made sure to kill my emotions when I would first face a stray devil-when I would _kill_ my first stray devil.

Where did I go wrong?

Was it because I expected a monster without compassion?

Maybe it was because I didn't think of stray devils as anything more than mindless beasts?

Did I ignore the influence of their demonic power?

Had I assumed all stray devils were cruel monsters who would betray their masters?

I don't know. I honestly don't know anymore.

All I know is that I can't kill this man, not when he is more human than devil.

I just can't kill him.

Fuck. I'm crying.

Dammit it, stop crying.

I hate the hormones in my body.

Damn it. I hate this. I hate feeling like this.

The forest clearing was silent for a minute or so. I kept my gaze on my feet, unable to look Zala-Dario Andino in the eyes.

I'm scared.

Scared of killing a human.

I don't want to kill him.

I don't really know how long we remained quiet for but at some point, Dario broke the silence.

"Can I ask you for your name?"

I mulled over the request for a moment before replying.

"Siegfried. My name is Siegfried."

"Siegfried. That's a nice name." Dario hummed, and I forced myself to look at him. He gave me such a gentle smile that I was forced to avoid my gaze once again.

How can I kill someone like this?

"My name is Dario Andino, though I suppose you already knew that." Dario chuckled, and I felt myself wanting to cry again because this isn't the monster I was meant to kill. This is the human Dario Andino.

"Siegfried, you don't know how much those words mean to someone like me, but after everything I've done, I don't deserve to live anymore."

"B-but you must have had a good reason for becoming a stray!"

"I was murdered by that devil bitch and reincarnated against my wishes," Dario spat, looking like he wanted to say more but shook it off, "but that doesn't excuse the fact that I had killed innocent humans. Even now, I can feel my demonic power slowly returning, and when the connection is reformed, I'll go back to being a monster that will kill any human I find."

"You can find help so please don't ask me to-!"

"But I want to die." Dario interrupted with another smile as he forced himself forward. His body crumbled into large chunks of frozen meat but it didn't stop him. When his legs fell apart, he used his arms to drag himself. When his right arm shattered from the strain, he used his cracked left arm to pull himself up.

_Please don't say it._

Dario lowered his body, or what was left of it, and placed his forehead on the ground before me.

"Which is why I'm asking you to kill me while I'm still human."

"I..."

I don't want to kill him.

"I don't..."

But how can I refuse him at this point?

"...I'll make it as painless as possible."

I placed Nothung back in its sheath and brought out Gram. Lifting the golden sword into the air, I activated its Sun Attribute and brought forth the golden flames of the sun itself.

...It's not enough.

Gram. Maximum output.

A second sun came to life within the forest.

And as I brought that sun down, I took the life of the human known as Dario Andino.

* * *

**And that's chapter 8.**

**So yeah, first thing's first.**

** Canon has been bitch slapped once again! Masaomi and Cleria are both still alive but on the run (le gasp)! Will they survive long enough to meet our protagonist!? Will they be hunted down by the forces of the church and Underworld!? Only time, and my mood every now and again, will tell what will become of the couple!**

**I also decided not to put Jeanne and SIegfried on the same team since it would be a bad idea for the church to keep two of their most valuable assets together in one place. They would run the risk of losing both of them together rather than a single one if anything were to happen.**

**As such, Jeanne's partner is one of my OC's. SIegfried will have a partner in the next chapter; his current mission was just a test to see how far the Sigurd Institute's successful experiment can go.**

**Besides, it's not as if exorcists are given a single partner to work with for good. They work with different partners from time to time so Jeanne and SIegfried will probably work together at some point.**

**As for Freed, he's begun falling into his inner darkness once again. ****I still have plans that won't end with him being cut into pieces though, so don't worry about that.**

**Finally, there was SIegfried's first experience with the world outside of the Vatican, and it didn't go as well as he thought it would.**

**This is because most people, SIegfried included, seem to forget something about stray devils. Before they were insane monsters, they were people too, and it's not as if all stray devils were bad people to begin with. Some of them might have had their own circumstances, such as Kuroka. **

**This is me showing that the world isn't black and white. Stray devils were their own people before their transformations, and some must have had a proper reason for killing their masters and running away other than the usual "power-hungry" excuse.**

**So here we have SIegfried meeting his very first stray devil, expecting a monster who killed his master and escape the Underworld for his own selfish reasons. Instead, he was faced with someone who ran to protect himself only to fall into a state of madness without anyone to regulate his demonic power.**

**I also want to make this point obvious: ****SIegfried is a human from another world, meaning that he still holds his own morals rather than what they taught him at the church. If you were in that kind of situation as well, you would hesitate too. Simply put, he's too kind for the world of DxD.**

**He won't be turning into an angsty character if any of you are worried. He'll still be his normal self but will have learnt a lesson.**

**Moving on, what did you guys think about the Demon Swords? SIegfried has finally figured out another way to get around the common weakness of Demon Swords by using the same method as Vali, though it isn't perfect. ****I also tried showcasing their abilities in this chapter but this is just the bare basics so far. There will be more techniques that will be introduced later on in the story.**

**For now, I'll just list the basics of their unique abilities:**

**Gram - Can produce golden fire as hot as the sun. It can also be charged up to increase its power. A simple, yet powerful ability.**

**Balmung - Can generate powerful winds with each swing, as you had seen in the fight. At full power, Balmung is able to create an enormous tornado.**

**Dainsleif - Can produce a blue aura that freezes anything it touches. This can also be transmitted into the air to freeze the water vapour, forming large pieces of ice. SIegfried froze the stray devil by freezing the air around Zalagras.**

**Nothung - Selective cutting. This can be used to literally cut through anything the user wants, whether it be physical or non-physical. This is actually my favourite ability out of the five swords.**

**Tyrfing - Can increase the force generated by its actions, resulting in unparalleled levels of destruction. What you saw in this chapter was SIegfried increasing the force produced by swinging Tyrfing through the air.**

**And now, for the reviews:**

**[Yukilumi] The church is pretty corrupt and SIegfried has made his dislike of them quite obvious, but there isn't much he can do when the people he cares for are devout followers.**** As for SIeg knowing about God's death, he's not really a devout follower to begin with since he knows that God is dead. ****He believes in Him but doesn't worship Him, if you know what I mean, and that loophole makes it so that his knowledge doesn't affect God's System.**

**[Warlord of Chaos] Gram and Balmung are stronger than the DxDverse Excalibur in regards to sheer power, but Excalibur has a greater diversity in abilities. Gram and Balmung are pretty much straightforward in their abilities. I'm trying to give the Demon Swords more of a spotlight compared to their canon counterparts.**

**[Journey to the End] I've explained it in the previous chapter's AN but I'll do it again. Basically, Dainsleif and Nothung look like Dark Repulsor and Elucidator respectively, and Tyrfing shares the same appearance as its Final Fantasy counterpart. As for Kiba's fate, I can't say much but I can say that he didn't stay at the church. None of the survivors are at the church anymore.**

**[Black332] - Perhaps in another time, brother, but not this one. It is a sad day when the five Demon Onee-Sans will not be lewded, but I must stick to my words!**

**[The Loud Person] You're right about the profile picture. That was the best image I could find for the SIegfried rather than Siegfried.**

**[Doortolight47] The thing is that I don't want to bring too many elements of Fate into this story, so Jeanne will not be wielding a flag or using Fate!Jeanne's NP. However, I have some _amazing_ plans for Jeanne that I can't wait to write, so you'll have to be patient until then.**

**[fruitpunchsamurai-987] You guessed right. That's going to be SIegfried's appearance for the duration of the story. As for Dulio, he'll be making an appearance in the next couple of chapters.**


End file.
